Angels of the battlefield : a history of the labors of the Catholic sisterhoods in the late civil war

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Second Edition— Revised and Enlarged.

ANGELS

OF THI

BATTLEFIELD.

A History of the Labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods in
the Late Civil War.

BY GEORGE BARTON.

•1 \ \

...1898...

THE CATHOLIC ART PUBLISHING COMPANY.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.

373.775
:E) Z 3 3 ^

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the

year 1897

By George Barton, Philadelphia, Pa.,

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at

Washington, D. C.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

The object of this volume is to present in as consecutive
and comprehensive form as possible the history of the
Catholic Sisterhoods in the late Civil War. Many books
have been written on the work of other women in this war,
but, aside from fugitive newspaper paragraphs, nothing has
ever been published concerning the self-sacrificing labors
of these Sisterhoods. Whatever may have been the cause
of this neglect or indifference, it is evident that the time has
arrived to fill this important gap in the literature of the war.

"The Sisters," to quote an army chaplain, "do not
have reunions or camp-fires to keep alive the memories of
the most bloody lustrum in our history, but their war stories
are as heroic, and far more edifying, than many the veterans
tell."

That genuine humility so characteristic of the Sisters
has made the collection of the necessary data for this work
very difficult. Most of the stories embodied in the pages
that follow have been gathered by personal interviews,
through examinations of various archives and records, and
by an extensive correspondence with Government officials,
veterans of the war and the superiors of convents and com-
munities. It is impossible to enumerate all those who have

(iii)

iv AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

aided in the work, but the writer desires to thank especially
the Sisters to whom he is indebted for the chapters relating
to the Sisters of Mercy who were with the Irish Brigade in
the West, and to the Sisters of St. Joseph who were at
Camp Curtin, in Harrisburg, Pa.

While the author has not hesitated to avail himself of
every possible source of information, it is only fair to say
that the great bulk of the material that goes to make up the
volume has been drawn from entirely original sources, and
is presented in printed form for the first time. In order to
form a basis for the work all of the obtainable literature
bearing upon the civil conflict was examined in a thorough
and exhaustive manner. It is no exaggeration to say that
nearly one thousand volumes bearing upon the "Mate un-
pleasantness " were searched with the hope of finding some
data bearing upon the saintly work of the Sisterhoods. The
books of reference included the more important histories of
the war ; the memoirs and recollections of the leading gen-
erals of both the Union and Confederate armies ; the de-
bates in Congress, the lives of the founders of the several
religious orders ; the histories of the Church and of the
Sisterhoods, and a score of miscellaneous works too numer-
ous to name in a preface. The official records and corres-
pondence of the war, issued by authority of Congress, un-
der the supervision and at the expense of the government,
consists, in itself, of more than one hundred bulky volumes.

The return from this immense crop of literature, so far
as the Sisters were concerned, was ridiculously small. It

AUTHOR'S PREFACE. v

did not begin to be commensurate with tlie amount of time,
labor and patience involved in the research. A rare letter
or document, and the occasional mention of a Sister in the
reports to the War Department constituted the sum total.
The oft-quoted hunt for the needle in the haystack furnishes
the only adequate comparison of the work in this instance.
The Generals and the officials who had the direction of the
awful struggle were, in the main, too busily engaged in
making history to pause long enough to mention the modest
hands that bound up their wounds, soothed their fevered
brows and performed those other acts of faith and charity
that seem to belong essentially, not to the weaker but to
the gentler sex.

In addition to this, the files of the secular and religious
newspapers, from i860 to 1865, were minutely examined
and the results carefully collated. Magazines and other
periodicals, including the illustrated weeklies of the time,
were also searched. The material thus evolved while more
promising than in the case of the histories and books of the
war was not entirely satisfactory. The paragraphs were
not only meagre and disconnected, but the dates and places
were uncertain and at times unreliable. But where these
newspaper stories could not be utilized, they were useful
in furnishing clues upon which complete stories were after-
wards built.

The general reader may not be deeply interested in
these details concerning the making of the book, but they
are given for the purpose of emphasizing the care and indus-

yi AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

try involved in the compilation and production of the work.
Through it all there has been a conscientious effort to avoid
political, sectional or religious controversy. In short, the
desire has been to present a modest picture of the grand
work done by the Sisters for HUMANITY.

Of course, there has been no intention of presenting a
history, or even a sketch, of the war itself and the merest
thread of its events has been introduced solely for the pur-
pose of making the narrative of the Sisters as connected
as the scattered data permitted. The aim has been con-
stantly to present facts in an impartial manner. How far
the writer has succeeded remains for the reader to judge.

The chivalrous men wearing both the Blue and the
Gray, who caused American manhood and valor to be
known and respected the world over, have on many occa-
sions, and in various ways, given expression to the esteem
and affection in which they hold the women who devoted
their lives to the care of the sick and wounded. The ranks
of the war Sisters have been gradually thinned out by death
until but a handful of them remain. These survivors rest
in their convent homes, tranquilly awaiting the final
summons to a land where conflict is unknown. They may
die, but the story of their patriotic and humane work will
live as long as love for loyalty, regard for duty and ad-
miration for self-sacrifice exist in the hearts of the American
people. G. B.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FACING PAGE

An Innocent Victim Frontispiece

Abraham Lincoln 23

Bombardment of Fort Sumter 39

' ' Peace for Her " 55

Sister Anthony , 77

First Battle of Bull Run 97

Battle of Antietam 113

General Benjamin Butler 118

General Meade at Gettysburg 137

Sister Mary Gonzaga 159

Mulvaney's Sheridan's Ride 177

Obsequies of Sister Mary Lucy 189

Battle of Wilson's Creek 207

Sisters of Satterlee Hospital 212

An Army Express Office 227

Grant, Sherman and Sheridan 251

Lee, Jackson and Beauregard 271

Lincoln at Gettysburg 286

Farragut in the Rigging 303

Union Leaders of the Civil War 319

Confederate Leaders of the Civil War 331

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

AUTHOR'S PREFACE 3,4,5,6

CHAPTER I.

THE ORDERS THAT PARTICIPATED

One of the effects of the war. The productive force of the nation deprived
by death, disease and disability of one million men. The task of caring
for the sick and wounded. Four notable orders— The Sisters of Charity,
Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph and Sisters of the Holy Cross.
Their history and the discipline, experience and self-sacrifice brought to
bear upon their work during the war.

CHAPTER H.

ARCHBISHOP HUGHES AND THE SISTERS.

19

The problem of how to provide the necessary nurses for both the Union and
Confederate Armies. Sisters not able to volunteer without the approval
of their superiors. An interesting epistle from Archbishop Hughes to
Archbishop Kenrick. The New York prelate appointed by President Lin-
coln as a peace commissioner to France. A characteristic letter from the
martyred President to the great Archbishop. Quelling the draft riots in
New York city. 23

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER III.

IN AND AROUND RICHMOND.

PAGE

Sisters of Charity inaugurate their labors in the Confederate Capital.
St. Anne's Military Hospital begins with three hundred patients. A
zealous Sister makes her colleague prisoner in the pantry. An odor of
death and how it was caused. The Union soldier who was "shot at
Manassas." Nurses who first got " a puff and then a buff.'' 29

CHAPTER IV.

HARPER'S FERRY.

The adventures of three Sisters who were detailed from the mother house at
Emmitsburg. Their offer to retire in the interest of the ladies of Win-
chester. A night's "repose" with foreheads resting upon umbrella
handles. A journey homeward by car and stage, and then across the
Potomac River in a flat canoe. A Sister received at the convent as one
from the grave. gg

CHAPTER V.

ST. LOUIS MILITARY HOSPITAL.

The border state of Missouri the scene of some of the most dramatic events
of the war. Soldiers ask the nurses if they are Free Masons. The
Chaplain obtains a pardon for a prisoner of war. Archbishop Ryan and
his work among the sick and wounded. The young Confederate who
declined to express sorrow for his course in the war. Amusing and
pathetic incidents. 45

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER VI.

IN AND AROUND WASHINGTON.

Dilapidated frame buildings serve as hospitals at the National Capital. A
convalescent patient who was "tired and vexed." A whole day spent
in going from store to store in a vain attempt to purchase " one of those
white bonnets" for a Sister, The soldier whose life was saved by being
"shot in the U. S. A."

CHAPTER VH.

SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH.

CHAPTER VHI.

PORTSMOUTH AND NORFOLK.

62

Terrible loss of life at the battle of Pittsburg Landing or Shilon. Sister
Anthony wins enduring laurels. Seven hundred wounded soldiers
crowded on one boat. The deck of the vessel resembles a slaughter
house. A Sister of Chanty acts as assistant surgeon. Sisters refuse
to abandon their patients. Sketch of the life of Sister Anthony. »,

The contest between the Monitor and the Merrimac, and general operations
of the war during the seven days' battle near Richmond. The taking
of the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth by the Union forces. Sisters
narrowly escape drowning while crossing the river in a row boat. One
instance where hatred was turned to love. 87

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER IX.

LABORS IN FREDERICK CITY.

The Sisters quartered in a stone barracks that had been occupied by General
Washington during the Revolutionary war. Patients see no necessity
for "tincture of iron" from the doctors. Soldiers without food for thir-
teen days. Young scholastics from the Jesuit Novitiate in the capacity
of nurses. Not enemies "except upon the battlefield."

CHAPTER X.

WHITE HOUSE.

CHAPTER XI.

MANASSAS AND ANTIETAM.

93

Sixty Sisters depart from Baltimore for the station in Virginia. Wounded
and dying men upon transport boats. Nurses who shared every horror
with their patients. Two Sisters who were martyrs to duty and hu-
manity. The worn-out Sister of Charity buried with military honors
upon the banks of the Potomac. Death of a deserter. 101

Five Sisters charged with the care of five hundred patients. Bodies of the
dead consumed by the flames. The military hospitals at Gordons\ille
and Lynchburg. Boonsboro and Sharpsburg selected for hospital pur-
poses for the men wounded at Antietam. General McClellan's kindness
to the Sisters. A man who had met Sisters during the Crimean war.
The brave flag bearer. 209

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER XII.

NEW ORLEANS.

The capture of the commercial metropolis of the Southwest by General
Butler and Admiral Farragut. Butler's chivalrous letter to the Superior
of the Convent at Donaldsonville. His tribute to the Sisters of Charity.
Bishop Elder a:nd the panic stricken people of Natchez. Work of the
Sisters in other localities. 1] 9

CHAPTER XIII.

SOUTHERN BATTLEFIELDS.

A letter from Central Georgia begging for Sisters of Charity.— "Are they men
or women?" A cautious priest who took the good nurses for impos-
tors. The train crashes through a bridge. The "magic" lunch basket
and how it fed an unlimited number of Sisters and soldiers. The hospitals
at Marietta and Atlanta. ' 125

CHAPTER XIV.

GETTYSBURG.

Twelve Sisters depart for the battlefield from the Mother House at Emmitts-
burg. A white handkerchief on a stick serves as a flag of truce. An
open charnel house red with the blood of American manhood. The little
church in the town of Gettysburg filled with the sick and wounded. A
Sister saves the life of a helpless man. " I belong to the Methodist
Church." 132

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER XV.

SATTERLEE HOSPITAL.

A sketch of the remarkable labors of Sister Mary Gonzaga and her work as
the executive head of a hospital where 50,000 sick and wounded soldiers
were cared for. The chaplain kept busy preparing men for death. Bishop
Wood visits the hospital and administers the sacrament of confirmation.
A soldier who was saved from the stocks. A veteran's tribute. J44

CHAPTER XVI.

THE FALL OF RICHMOND.

Preparing for the close of the war. Sisters of Charity in the West enlisted
in the military prison at Alton. Smallpox cases removed to an island
in the Mississippi. Leaders of the Southern Confederacy realize that
their cause is lost. Scenes of wild excitement in Richmond. Blessings
for the Sisters.

CHAPTER XVII.

SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH.

Bishop Spalding sends a letter to General Anderson tendering the services
of the Sisters. The offer accepted and the volunteers assigned to work
in the hospitals in and around Louisville. "Oh, Sister, put your head
down by me and don't leave me." The martyrdom of Sister Mar>' Lucy.
Tender-hearted soldiers keep a vigil around the coffin with blazing torches
made of pine knots.

172

182

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER XVIII.

MORE ABOUT NAZARETH.

Bardstown occupied successively by the Union and the Confederate troops.
Six Sisters start for Lexington under a flag of truce. A courteous letter
from Brigadier-General Wood. Ex-Secretary of State Guthrie applies to
President Lincoln for protection to the Nazareth Convent. A brief
sketch of a famous school and some of its distinguished graduates. 192

CHAPTER XIX.

SISTERS OF MT. ST. VINCENT.

A joint request from the Mayor of Cincinnati and the Archbishop of the
Diocese promptly answered. Appalling sights witnessed by the Sisters.
Young men seated on their own coffins prepare for execution. General
Rosecrans and his kindness to the Sisters. The Governor of Indiana
calls for nurses. Labors in Kentucky. 202

CHAPTER XX.

THE SISTERS OF MERCY.

An application from the Secretary of War to the Superior of the order. Nine
Sisters depart for the Government Hospital at Beaufort, N. C. A dinner
of pork and beans and mouldy bread. The steward who expected the
Sisters to poison some of the patients. Complimented by Jefferson
Davis. A convent confiscated by General Slocum. Secular ladies who
had " other engagements " when the smallpox appeared. 211

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXI.

THE NORTH CAROLINA HOSPITALS.

Solicitude of the Sisters for the patients under their care. Friendships
formed that were only parted by death. Interesting reminiscences of
Mother M. Augustine MacKenna concerning the Government Hospital
at Beaufort, N. C. A victim of camp fever and how he was relieved by
the nurse. 222

CHAPTER XXn.

LABORS IN THE WEST.

The Sisters of Mercy attend the sick and wounded in the " Irish Brigade."
the command organized by Colonel Mulligan, whose life was sacrificed
in the Union cause. Sisters leave Chicago for Lexington, Mo. One
brave, religious Sister who wanted to finish her office before being shot.
General Fremont and his staff call upon the Sisters. Taking charge of
the hospital department of the steamship Express. 23g

CHAPTER XXI 1 1.

THE STANTON HOSPITAL.

The authorities in Washington invite the Sisters of Mercy to take charge of
both the institutions at the capital and the Western Pennsylvania Hos-
pital, in Pittsburg. Death of the Superior of the Stanton Hospital.
Buried with military honors. President Lincoln commends the Sisters
for their self-sacrificing labors. A warm tribute from Father Canevin
how the Civil war helped to wipe out religious bigotry. 047

North Carolina S'ale Library
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXIV.

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH.

PAGE

The Surgeon General applies for nurses to care for the sick soldiers in Camp
Curtin, Harrisburg. Bishop Wood gives a ready assent. Their valuable
Services at the State Capital. An olificial letter of thanks from Governor
Curtin. Down the James River in the Commodore to bring the wounded
from the battlefield of Yorktown. A poor soldier abandoned in an isolated
tent. Rescued from death itself. A grateful patient. 258

CHAPTER XXV.

SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS.

The heroic life and labors of Mother Angela. A cousin of the late James G.
Blaine. She gives up her school at South Bend, Ind., to serve through
the war. A historic meeting between Mother Angela and General Grant.
Rev. L. A. Lambert, the chaplain at Mound City. Sixty Sisters of the
Holy Cross on duty. Sister Angela, of the Visitation Community, and
her love for the soldiers. 267

CHAPTER XXVI.

MOTHER ANGELA.

Related to many eminent men of the century ; her tranquil death in the con-
vent in Indiana ; her ability as a writer and an educator. An incident of
the war told by her in a powerful and dramatic style. The original of a
Holy^ross Sister portrayed in a poem. 282

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXVII.

NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES.

Comment of Mary A. Livermore upon the work of Mother Angela at Mound
City: "The world has known no nobler and more heroic women than
those found in the ranks of the Catholic Sisterhoods." A famous scout
gives his impressions of the Sisters. Susan D. Messinger tells of the
work of the Sisters at New Berne, N. C. 297

CHAPTER XXVIII

A LESSON IN CHARITY.

An incident of the war in which a gentle Sister of Charity and a stern mili-
tary commander played the leading parts. " What do you do with your
beggings?" The Red River campaign and its fatal results. The gen-
eral in the hospitaL "Did you get the ice and beef?" A grateful
patient and his appreciation of the real worth of the Sisters. 315

APPENDIX.

An Innocent Victim 324

Medals for Sisters 324

Honored by the Queen 325

Veterans of the Crimean War 326

Poor Sister St. Claire 327

Lord Napier's Testimony 330

Very Rev. James Francis Burlando, C. M 335

Mother Seton 340

The Sister of Charity 345

Sisters of Charity 348

The Angels of Buena Vista 353

Catherine Elizabeth McAuley 356

Clerical Veterans 360

Catholics in the War 363

The Sanitary Commission 370

The Blue and the Gray 374

A Miracle of the War 376

Lincoln at Gettysburg 378

The Faith and the Flag 380

A Romance of the War 388

CHAPTER 1.

THE ORDERS THAT PARTICIPATED.

One of the effects of the war. The productive force of the nation deprived
by death, disease and disability of one million men. The task of caring
for the sicl< and wounded. Four notable orders— The Sisters of Charity,
Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph and Sisters of the Holy Cross.
Their history and the discipline, experience and self-sacrifice brought to
bear upon their work during the war.

On the twelfth day of April, 1861, the first shot fired
upon Fort Sumter, formally inaugurated the civil war in
the United States. On the ninth of April, 1865, Grant
and Lee were the principals in the historic
meeting at Appomattox Court House, by
which hostilities were virtually termin-
ated. The interval between those two
memorable dates presents the greatest or-
deal in the history of the Republic.

As a result of these four momentous
years of conflict the nation was deprived
by death and disease of one million men.
The total number of enlisted soldiers in the
Union Army during the whole of the war
amounted to 2,688,523. As many of these men were mus-
tered in twice, and as a certain percentage deserted, it ia

(19)

20 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

reasonable to estimate that 1,500,000 men were actively
engaged in the Northern armies.

Of this number 56,000 died on the field of battle, 35,-
000 expired in the hospitals from the effects of wounds re-
ceived m action, and 184,000 perished by disease. It is
probable that those who died of disease after their dis-
charge from the army would swell the total to 300,000. If
the effects of inferior hospital service and poor sanitary
arrangements are added to the other results of war, it
is safe to assume that the loss of the South was greater
than that of the North. But, considering the Southern
loss equal to that of the North, the aggregate is 600,000.
Add to this 400,000 men crippled or permanently dis-
abled by disease, and the total subtraction from the pro-
ductive force of the nation reaches the stupendous total
of 1,000,000 men. These figures seem almost incredi-
ble, but they come from what, in this particular at
least, must be regarded as a trustworthy source (1).

The task of caring for such an army of dead and
wounded was no light one. In the beginning of the war
this feature of military life was conducted in an uncertain
and spasmodic manner. As time wore on, it became evi-
dent that the war was not to consist of a few skirmishes,
but was lil^ely to be a protracted struggle between two
bodies of determined men (2). Then the necessity of a syste-
matic sanitary and hospital service made itself apparent.
As a result of the pressing needs of the hour the Sanitary
Oommission and the Christian Commission were organ-
ized. The meritorious nature of the work of Ihese great

(1). Greeley's "American Conflict.

(2). There were 2261 known battles, engagements and skirmishes
during the war.

THE OEDEKS THAT PARTICIPATED. 21

charities has been made known by reports and books
published since the war. The details of the good deeds of
both organizations in supplying nurses and in caring for
invalids generally are too well known to need repetition.

But the story of the labors of the Catholic Sisters is not
so well known. To begin with, the Sisters brought to their
aid in caring for the sick and wounded soldiers the experi-
ence, training and discipline of the religious bodies with
which they were identified. Self-denial was a feature of
their daily life, and the fact that they had taken vows of
poverty, chastity and obedience peculiarly fitted them for a
duty that demanded personal sacrifices almost every hour
of the day and night.

From the data obtainable it appears that the members
of four Catholic Sisterhoods participated in the merciful
work incident to the war. These included the Sisters of
Charity, the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of St. Joseph and
the Sisters of the Holy Cross (3). The soldiers, like many
people in civil life, made no distinction between the orders,
and to them the dark-robed angels of the battlefields were
all "Sisters of Charity."

There are now three orders of the Sisters of Charity in
the United States. The "black caps," or Mother Seton Sis-
ters, who have establishments in New York, Cincinnati
and other places; the ^' white caps," or Cornette Sisters,
of Emmittsburg, Md., and the Sisters of Charity, of Naza-
reth, Ky. There are probably 5000 members of these three
orders of Sisters of Charity in this country to-day. The
Nazareth community was founded in 1812 by a few pious

(3). It is probable that scattering members from one or two other
orders did praiseworthy work during the war, but diligent inquiry has
failed to bring forth any specific facts concerning their labors.

22 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD-

American ladies near Nazareth, Ky., under the good
Bishop David. Mother Catherine Spalding, a relative
of thp late Archbishop of Baltimore, and of the present
Bishop of Peoria, HI,, was the first Superioress. The mem-
bers of all these three branches of the Sisters of Charity
did good work during the war.

The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy was
founded by Miss Catherine McAuley, in Dublin, Ireland,
September 24, 1827. Seven Sisters, who came from Car-
low, Ireland, established the order in the United States,
locating in Pittsburg, Pa. The Sisters of the Holy Cross
have a Mother House at Notre Dame, Ind., and conduct
establishments in a large number of dioceses.

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph was
founded in France, in 1650. In the general ruin incident
to the French Revolution, near the close of the last cen-
tury, the convents of the order were destroyed. The body
was subsequently reorganized, and six Sisters from the
Mother House at Lyon came to St. Louis in 1836, at the
request of Bishop Rosati, and founded a house at Caron-
delet, Mo. This became the Mother House in this country.
A number of independent houses of the order have since
been established, notably the one at Chestnut Hill.
Philadelphia.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

CHAPTER II.

ARCHBISHOP HUGHES AND THE SISTERS.

The problem of how to provide the necessary nurses for both the Union and
Confederate Annies. Sisters not able to volunteer without the approval
of their superiors. An interesting epistle from Archbishop Hughes to
Archbishop Kenrick. The New York prelate appointed by President Lin-
coln as a peace commissioner to France. A characteristic letter from the
martyred President to the great Archbishop. Quelling the draft riots in
New York city.

Very early in the war the question of providing nurses
for the sick and wounded soldiers of both armies became a
serious problem, not only to the civil authorities, but also
to the Church officials. In every great
emergency questions of this kind gen-
erally solve themselves. It proved so in
this instance. The first shot had hard-
ly been fired, the first battle fought and
the first improvised hospital put into
service, before volunteers from all sec-
tions of the country had placed them-
selves at the disposal of generals of the
contending armies. These offers came
both from laj'' women and from mem-
bers of the various Sisterhoods connected with the Cath-
olic Church in the United States. The Sisters, of course,

(23)

LINCOLN.

24 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

being under certain rules and discipline, were not able to
volunteer until they had obtained the consent and appro-
val of their Superiors,

In the beginning the nurses for the armies were taken
from all walks of life. While they were zealous and en-
tered upon their work with the desire of alleviating suf-
fering, they did not have the disposition or training nec-
essary to carry on the work with the ease and thorough-
ness essential to complete success. As the war progressed
and battles occurred more frequently, and the number of
sick and wounded became alarmingly large, the medical
directors in both the Union and Confederate armies began
to recognize and appreciate the real value of the Sisters.

The following letter (1), written by Archbishop Hughes,
of New York, to Most Rev. Francis Patrick Kenrick,
D. D., Archbishop of the See of Baltimore, shows that the
subject was a live one in Church circles at that time:

To the Archbishop of Baltimore. May 9, 1861.

Most Reverend and Dear Sir: —

The Superior of the Jesuits here called upon me
more than a week ago to state that their society would
oe prepared to furnish for spiritual necessities of the
army, North and South, as many as ten chaplains, speak-
ing all the civilized languages of Europe or America.
I heard him, but did not make any reply. For myself
I have sent but one chaplain with the Sixty-ninth Regi-
ment, and to him I have already given the faculties
which you had the kindness to confer upon me for such
an occasion.

There is also another question growing up, and it is
about nurses for the sick and wounded. Our Sisters of
Mercy have volunteered after the example of their Sisters
toiling in the Crimean war. I have signified to them,

(1). Life of Archbishop Hughes, by John R. G. Hassard.

AECHBISHOP HUGHES AND THE SISTERS. 25

not harshly, that they had better mind their own affairs
until their services are needed. I am now informed in-
directly that the Sisters of Charity in the diocese would
be willing to volunteer a force of from fifty to one
hundred nurses. To this last proposition I have very
strong objections. Besides, it would seem to me natural
and proper that the Sisters of Charity in Emmittsburg
should occupy the very honorable post of nursing the
sick and wounded. But, on the other hand, Maryland is
a divided community at this moment, whereas New York
is understood to be all on one side. In fact, as the ques-
tion now stands, Maryland is in America, for the mo-
ment, as Belgium has been the battlefield of Europe.
As I mentioned several days ago, Baltimore must be de-
stroyed or it must succumb to Northern determination.
On these several points I would like much to know
what your Grace thinks and would advise.

Sincerely your devoted brother and servant in Christ.

'JOHN, Archbishop of New York.

While, as the Archbishop stated in his letter, Marylana
might have been a divided community, the same could not
be said of the Sisters of Charity of Emmittsburg. They
were united in occupying "the very honorable jwst of nurs-
ing the sick and wounded" on both sides of the great con-
flict. Soon after this the Archbishop changed some of
his views regarding the Sisters, as expressed in the
above letter. Both the Sisters of Charity and the Sis-
ters of Mercy in the Diocese of New York served in the
camps and the hospitals. To begin with, the Arch-
bishop withdrew his "strong objection" to the one hundred
Sisters of Charity who desired to volunteer in the early
stages of the war. After that all those who were willing
to undertake the humane work went into it with his bless-
ing and best wishes. ,

26 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

The following letter from President Lincoln to Arch-
bishop Hughes is of interest. It was the beginning of a
warm personal friendship between two strong men — a
friendsihip ended only by death.

Washington, D. C, October 21, 1861.
Archbishop Hughes.

Rt. Rev. Sir: — I am sure you will pardon me if, in
my ignorance, I do not address you with technical cor-
rectness.

I find no law authorizing the appointment of chap-
lains for our hospitals, and yet the services of chaplains
are more needed, perhaps, in hospitals than with the
healthy soldiers in the field. With this view I have
given a sort of quasi appointment (a copy of which I
enclose) to each of three Protestant ministers, who have
accepted and entered upon the duties.

If you perceive no objection I will thank you to give
me the name or names of one or more suitable persons of
the Catholic Church to whom I may with propriety ten-
der the same service.

Many thanks for your kind and judicious letters to
Governor Seward, and which he regularly allows me the
pleasure and profit of perusing.

With the highest respect. Your obedient servant,

A. LINCOLN.

There are conflicting opinions regarding the propriety
of the "war stand" taken by the Archbishop, but it is gen-
erally agreed that he was one of the heroic figures of war
times. He had the absolute confidence of President Lin-
coln, and on the 21st of October, 1861, was sent abroad
with Thurlow Weed on a "peace commission." The Arch-
bishop went to France, while Mr. Weed confined his work
to England. At the same time Messrs. Mason and Slidell
were in Europe on a mission in the interests of the Con-

ARCHBISHOP HUGHES AND THE SISTERS. 27

federacy. The late Bishop McMerny, of Albany, then a
young priest in New York City, accompanied the Arch-
bishop to France, acting in the capacity of private secre-
tary.

These two rival "missions" to Europe were covered
with all sorts of honeyed diplomatic terms, but their real
purpose was well known. Messrs. Mason and Slidell went
to induce one or more of the powerful nations of the old
world to throw the weight of their influence with the
Southern Confederacy. The mission of the Archbishop
and Mr. Weed was to prevent that result.

A letter written by Archbishop Hughes to Cardinal
Barnabo, at the time of his appointment by President Lin-
coln, goes to show that the Archbishop accepted the mis-
sion with the very highest motives. After explaining that
he had refused it once and only reconsidered his refusal at
the earnest request of the President, he adds : "My mission
was and is a mission of peace between France and Eng-
land on the one side, and the United States on the other.
The time was so brief between my visit to Washington
and my departure from New York that I had no oppor-
tunity of writing to your Eminence upon the subject, or
of consulting any of the other Bishops in regard to it. I
made it known to the President that if I should come to
Europe it would not be as a partisan of the North more
than of the South; that I should represent the interests
of the South as well as of the North ; in short, the interests
of all the United States Just the same as if they had not
been distracted by the present civil war. The people of
the South know that I am not opposed to their interests.
They have eA'^en published that in their papers, and some
say that my coming to Europe is with a view to bringing

28 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

about a reconciliation between tbe two sections of the
country. But in fact no one but myself, either North or
South, knows the entire object of my visit to Europe."

Archbishop Hughes was one of the great men of Ms
day. He was on terms of friendship with several of the
Presidents who preceded Mr. Lincoln, and also enjoyed
the confidence and respect of the leading statesmen of the
nation. As early as 1847 he preached before Congress
upon the invitation of such men as John Quincy Adams,
John C. Calhoun and Thomas H. Benton. His subject was:
''Christianity, the Only Source of Moral, Social and Polit-
ical Regeneration.''

In Jnly, 1863, Archbishop Hughes was instrumental
in quelling the draft riots in New York City. The mob
was beyond the control of the local authorities, and the
Archbishop finally consented to say a few words in the
interest of law and order. The venerable prelate was fast
approaching his end. He was so weak at this time tha\
he had to be conveyed to the balcony of his residence in an
arm chair. He spoke briefly, and succeeded in inducing
the rioters to return to their homes for the time being. It
was his last public appearance, and soon after this he
peacefully passed away, surrounded by friends and rela-
tives and the ever faithful Sisters of Charity.

In the chapters that follow it w proposed to deal with
the labors of the Sisters of Charity, taking up first the
Cornette or Emmittsburg Sisters, then the "Sisters of
Charity of Nazareth," and finally the "black caps" or
Mother Seton Sisters. The concluding chapters deal with
the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Sis-
ters of the Holy Cross in the order named.

CHAPTER HI.

IN AND AROUND RICHMOND.

Sisters of Charity inaugurate their labors in the Confederate Capital.
St. Anne's Military Hospital begins with three hundred patients. A
zealous Sister makes her colleague prisoner in the pantry. An odor of
death, and how it was caused. The Union soldier who was "shot at
Manassas." Nurses who first got "a puff and then a buff."

In the early part of June, 1861, Dr. Gibson, wlio was
in charge of the Military Hospital at the Confederate
capital, Richmond, Va., called upon the Sisters of Charity
of Emmittsburg to come to the relief
of the sick and wounded soldiers in
that neighborhood. The late Rt.
Rev. John McGrill, the Bishop of the
Diocese of Richmond, did not object
to having the Sisters engage in a
work of mercy, but he was opposed
to any hospital or infirmary which
might prove to be an obstacle to or
impair the prosperity of the church
hospital of St. Francis de Sales. The civil authorities did
not make any impression upon the prelate, but when the
Sisters themselves called at the episcopal palace and
begged to be assigned to the work, the Bishop could not
resist, and the coveted consent was obtained.

(29)

LEE.

30 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

It was announced that the Sisters would begin their
work on the following Saturday. Two physicians called
at the convent, and conducted them to the institution,
which afterwards became known as St. Anne's Militarj-
Hospital. The structure was in an unfinished state, and
the walls were not plastered. But it was thoroughly ven-
tilated and free from dampness, and that meant much in
a building designed for the care of the sick.

The house contained altogether .about three hundred
patients. Each ward held from twelve to fourteen men,
and the rooms opened into one another. It was noon when
the Sisters arrived, and they were shocked to find that
many of the wounded men had not yet broken their fast.
The first care of the newcomers was to relieve the hunger
of the patients. To effect this they went to the kitchen,
making the acquaintance of "Nicholas," the cook; "Black
George," his assistant, and other occupants of this section
of the house. While these employes were good men and
were doing their very best, they succeeded but poorly in
having an orderly kitchen, or in providing the soldiers with
the sort of food adapted to their weakened condition.

One Sister among those who had volunteered to work
in the hospital was detained a little later than the others.
She felt remorseful at the unavoidable delay, but deter-
mined to compensate for it by unusual activity. The first
thing that caught her alert eye on her arrival was a pantry
with the door wide open. Burning with zeal to be useful
she closed and locked the door. Suddenly there was a
rapping from the inside. The zealous Sister was not super-
stitious, nor could she be called ner-A'ous, but these strong
noises frightened her, and she became pale as the rappings
continued to grow in volume and number.

IN AND AROUND RICHMOND. 31

"Open the door and let me out," came in sepulchral
tones from the pantry.

The key was applied and the door hastily opened, and
out walked another frightened Sister, who had been
imprisoned while searching for supplies.

After many little incidents of a trivial character order
was restored from chaos. Some of the soldiers declared
that the first meal they received from the Sisters was bet-
ter than anything they had eaten since entering the army.
The Sisters, that first night, got no sleep, for the wants of
the sufferers were pressing.

One of the patients called a Sister to his bedside and
in a low voice said: "You know the doctors think I may
not live over night, therefore I have a great favor to ask
that I hope you will not refuse. I have a mother." Here
tears checked his utterance. The Sister said: "I under-
stand ; you want me to write to her." "Yes," he said ; "say
that her child is dead, but do not tell her how I have suf-
fered ; that would break her heart."

This delicate mission, like many similar ones en-
trusted to the Sisters, was faithfully fulfilled.

The wounded men came from the battles and skir-
mishes that had taken place in the vicinity of Richmond,
notably Phillippi, Big Bethel, Romney, Rich Mountain,
Carrick's Ford and Manassas, Va. The last engagement,
which is also known as the first battle of Bull Run, ended
disastrously for the Union forces. It occurred on the 21st
of July, 1861, and the Sisters silently going the rounds
in their infirmary could almost hear the reverberating
sound of the shot and shell.

Toward night about fifty wounded soldiers, prisoners
from Manassas, were brought into the hospital, some

32 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

dying and others wounded, and until better accommoda-
tions could be provided they had to be laid on the floor.

One of the Sisters was called by the doctor, who said:
"Sister, get something for this poor man's head; he has
just asked for a log of wood."

The Sister went out, but where to get a pillow was
a mystery; everyone was engaged. At last a pillow case
was found, and the bright idea came to the Sister: "I will
stuff it with paper." She brought it to the man, who was
a down-East Yankee, thinking the invention suited the
individual for whom it was destined. The poor fellow,
despite his suffering, smiled as it was given him.

It was very late when the Sisters finally prepared to
retire after a hard day's work. They were not settled in
their room before Sister Blanche remarked:

"I cannot sleep; there is such an odor of death about
this apartment."

Nevertheless they composed themselves as best as they
could. In the morning the secret of the strong odor was
revealed. A pair of human limbs amputated the week
before had been carelessly thrown in the adjoining room.
It was a great trial for the Sister to visit that room. She
covered her nose and mouth with her handkerchief and
threw open the windows. Under her directions the limbs
were at once interred. One of the Sisters writing in her
diary at his time says: "Yesterday a man was buried with
three legs."

On Sunday morning an addition of eleven Union offi-
cers was received to the number of wounded. They were
given accommodations in the garret. In the officers' quar-
ters were found captains, majors, lieutenants and ser-
geants, all wounded. One fellow blessed with a fine voice

IN AND AROUND RICHMOND. 33

had a guitar loaned Mm, and lie could always be seen in
a corner whiling away the dull hours. Sometimes these
invalid officers were annoyed by visitors who were untir-
ing in their questions,

"Where were you shot at?" asked one inquisitive
individual, meaning in what part of the body.

"Shot at Manassas," was the laconic reply.

As one of the Sisters was crossing the porch a tall,
brawny soldier cried out: "You ladies have a sight of work
to do, but I tell you what, you get high pay."

"None at all," was the quiet answer.

"What!" said he, starting back with surprise; "you
don't tell me you do all this work for nothing?"

"Precisely," was the quiet response.

One of the nurses or hands about the place being
sadly put out about something that went wrong exclaimed
that he was "neither an angel nor a Sister of Charity,"
and that he would not put up with it at all. Sister Mary
Ann, in speaking of the varied dispositions of the men, said
that the Sisters "first got a puff and then a buff."

Five of the Union officers who were in the garret
clubbed together after their departure and sent the Sis-
ters a check for fifty dollars for the benefit of the orphan-
age in Richmond,

The Infirmary of St. Francis de Sales had been in
operation by the Sisters for the sick in general when the
war commenced, but after that it was utilized for the
wounded soldiers. On May 16, 1861, the Sisters in this
institution were appealed to by the medical authorities.
Very soon the building was too much crowded for the
patients. The Government then took a large house, which
was transformed into a hospital. It was thought that

34 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

male nurses would answer the purpose. In a few days,
however, the surgeon and officers in charge went to the
Sisters at the Infirmary, begging them to come to their
assistance at the new hospital, as the sick were very
much in need of their services. The Sisters went to this
hospital on June 26, 1861.

Other hospitals in and around Richmond were built,
and as rapidly as they were made ready for use the sur-
geons applied for Sisters to take charge of them. All of
the Sisters outside of the blockade which existed at that
time were at military posts, except those engaged in caring
for the orj)hans. The schools and academies controlled by
the Sisters had been closed for some time. As the Sisters
were sent to many different hospitals the number that
could be assigned for each one was small. The hospitals
were often without the necessaries of life. For the Sisters'
table rough corn bread and strong fat bacon were lux-
uries; as for beverages, they could rarely tell what was
given to them for tea or coffee, for at one time it was sage
and at another herbs.

Soon after going to one of the new hospitals in Rich-
mond the surgeon in charge said to one of the Sisters : "I
am obliged to make known our difficulties to you that you
may enable me to surmount them, for you ladies accom-
plish all you undertake. Until now we have been supplied
with the delicacies necessary for our patients from Louis-
iana, but the blockade prevents this at present and I fear
to enter the wards, as the poor men are still asking for
former refreshments, and they cannot be quieted. We
dislike to inform them of the strait we are in, though
this state of affairs may be of short duration."

The Sister hardly knew what to do, but proposed that

IN AND ABOUND RICHMOND. 35

wagons be sent among the farmhouses for the purpose
of gathering in fowl, milk, butter and fruit. This was
done, but in the meantime complaints had been made to
headquarters that since the Sisters had come to the hos-
pital all delicacies had been withheld from the poor sick.
The surgeon and Sisters knew nothing of this complaint
until a deputy Government official arrived to learn the
truth of the charges. He visited the wards during meal
time, after which he entered the room where the Sisters
dined. Then he told the surgeon the motive of his visit.
The surgeon was glad to explain to the deputy the cause
of the complaints. The deputy informed the soldiers that
the nurses were not in any way responsible for their suf-
ferings, and that the fare of the Sisters was always worse
than that furnished to the soldiers.

The men soon became convinced that they had been
too hasty in their judgment of the Sisters, and that the
stoppage of the delicacies was for unavoidable causes.
They found before long that the "Angels of the Battle-
field," as they came to call the Sisters, had but one de-
sire, and that was to add to their comfort, as much as the
limited supplies would permit.

CHAPTER IV.

HARPER'S FERRY.

The adventures of three Sisters who were detailed from the mother house at
Emmitsburg. Their offer to retire in the interest of the ladies of Win-
chester. A night's "repose" with foreheads resting upon umbrella
handles. A journey homeward by car and stage, and then across the
Potomac River in a flat canoe. A Sister received at the convent as one
from the grave.

Nearly all the Sisters that could be spared had been
sent from the mother house at Emmittsburg, and were
engaged in performing works of charity on the battle-
fields and in the various camps and hospitals. On June 7,
1861, a telegram was received from
the authorities asking that a num-
ber of Sisters be detailed to serve
the sick and wounded soldiers at
Harper's Ferry. .

In spite of the severe strain that
it entailed upon their available as-
signments, the Superiors made the
GRANT sacrifice of sending three Sisters.

These brave women left Emmitts-
burg on June 9 for Frederick City. Mother Ann Simeor,
cautioned them to act with prudence, lest they meet with
trouble, as they had the Northern Army and its sentinels

(36)

HARPER'S FERRY. 37

to pass in order to reach their destination. An orderly
had been sent to escort them, but the Sisters passed their
intended guide without knowing it, he going by them on
the road to Emmittsburg,

An expected engagement kept villagers and farmers
quietly at home. Men cautiously whispered their fears or
opinions, and the sight of people bold enough to travel just
then was a matter that occasioned mild surprise. For
this reason the Sisters tried to huddle in the rear of the
stage coach, hoping to pass unobserved. During a brief
halt for the mail in one little town the driver opened the
stage door and handing in a letter said in a loud voice :

"Sisters, a gentleman in Emmittsburg desires you to
put this letter in a Southern post offlce after you have
crossed the line."

The eyes of the curious and astonished people were
on them in a moment. The Sisters were not aware that
the driver knew of their destination, but they remained
quiet and made the best of the incident. The heat was
excessive. One of the horses gave out on the way, and
another had to be hastily substituted. After some delay
the party arrived in Frederick City. A few sentinels stood
here and there, but no one paid much attention to the
new arrivals. Before they started again, however, a
number of men gathered around their carriages, saying,
'Why, ladies, where are you going?" Several of the men
asked questions at the same time, but the Sisters stared
at them blankly, and civilly answered anything except
what the gossips most desired to know.

As hostilities had stopped the railway cars the pil-
grims had to continue their journey in the stage-coach.
Almost sick with heat they journeyed on until

38 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

another horse succumbed. This meant more trouble
and suspense, but it was borne with heroic patience.

The most exciting adventure was yet to come. The
rocks of the Maryland Heights on one side, and the Poto-
mac Kiver on the left, came in view. Just as the carriage
was, seemingly, proceeding smoothly on its way there came
a sudden grating sound and then an abrupt stop. "We're
stuck!" ejaculated the driver, with more force than ele-
gance. The carriage was so tightly fastened that it was
feared the vehicle would have to be abandoned and the
remainder of the journey made upon foot. The driver
swore and stormed about, while the Sisters meekly looked
on in silence, fearing to further irritate him with sugges-
tions. Finally the carriage was extricated and the pil-
grims proceeded upon their way.

About twilight the Southern pickets were seen, for the
South stni held a portion of Maryland. The first soldier
inquired where the Sisters were going, and with what
intent. He then passed them on to the next guard, and
so on until they came to the last, who said: ^We have just
received such strict orders regarding persons crossing
in or out. that it is not in my power to pass you on." The
captain of the guards was sent for, however, and the Sis-
ters were transferred over the Potomac Bridge. Great
cargoes of powder had already been placed on this bridge,
so that, in the event of the enemy's approach it might be
destroyed.

Harper's Ferry is at the junction of the Potomac and
Shenandoah Rivers, the Potomac separating Maryland
and Virginia. A summit above the town, standing be-
tween the two rivers, is called Bolivar Heights. On this
elevation was located the military hospital where the

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HAEPER'S FEERY. 39

Sisters were to labor. A neat little Catholic cliurcli was
located about midway between the valley and the town.

The hospital was filled with the sick, and around the
town lay thousands of men just arrived from the
most remote Southern States. A cold wet spell had pre-
ceded the present heat, and many of the men were ill and
lay in their tents until vacancies opened for them in the
badly sheltered houses in the town. The men in one reg-
iment had contracted measles on their march; this
spreading among others with the exposure incidental to
army life thinned their numbers before the ball and the
sword had begun their quicker work.

On reaching their lodgings the Sisters found supper
prepared, and after disposing of this they soon retired
to rest. The stillness and darkness of the town was
frightful. No sound but the Sisters' voices or footsteps
was to be heard. Not a. light gleamed from the fastened
windows for fear of discovery by the hidden enemy. The
whole army had been sleeping or resting on their arms
since their arrival, expecting an early attack.

The medical director, who had sent for the Sisters,
came early in the morning and took them to the hospital.
With his assistant he escorted them from room to room, in-
troducing them and saying to the patients : "Now you will
have no cause to complain of not getting nourishment,
medicine and attention at the right time, for the Sisters
of Charity will see to all these things.

The town had been by turns in the possession of the
North and South, and was therefore completely drained of
provisions and necessary conveniences for the sick. Not-
withstanding these difficulties things were beginning to
look more comfortable, when a telegram was received from

40 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Winchester ordering the whole Confederate Army to re-
pair to that town immediately. The Northern Army, it
was announced, would attempt to cross the Potomac
above and below Harper's Ferry, thus surrounding the
Southern Army and cutting off all supplies.

The soldiers moved at once, with the exception of
those who served the sick, and those who were to collect
the tents and finally destroy bridges and tracks. Pro-
visions were cast into the river by the wholesale, in order
to deprive the enemy of benefit. Then came new orders
to wait a while, but the invalids had already been removed
to the depot, to await the return of the cars from Winches-
ter. Arrangements were now being made for the destruc-
tion of the bridges and tracks, and the Sisters were sent
to remain with a worthy Catholic family far away from
these structures. During the night one explosion after
another shook the grand bridge and seemed to shake the
mountains. The little Catholic church, the only one that
had not been applied to military purposes, was filled and
surrounded by the frightened people. The worn-out pas-
tor was their only consoler.

The Sisters looked at the awful destruction around
them, and felt encompassed with desolation. All the next
day they hourly expected to be called to the cars, but no
word came. They now learned that the ladies of Win-
chester had written to the medical director requesting him
not to let the Sisters of Charity serve the sick, as they
themselves would wait on them. The Sisters knew that
the ladies had been enthusiastic in caring for the Con-
federate sick and, thinking the delay was owing to the
embarrassment the doctors might experience in regard to
this, one Sister, acting as spokeswoman, said to them :

HARPER'S FERRY. 41

"Gentlemen, we are aware of the ardor with which
the Winchester ladies have labored for your poor men,
and also know of their desire to serve the men alone —
that is, without any aid of ours; therefore be candid
enough to allow us to return to our home. If you feel
any difficulty respecting the ladies of Winchester tell us.
The Sisters consider it reasonable that they should wish
to serve their own people, and will not be offended, but
rather feel grateful for your friendly candor."

The physicians replied that they did not care for
the objections that had been made to the Sisters; that
the ladies of Winchester could never do for the sick
what the Sisters of Charity would do, and tnere-
fore unless the Sisters insisted on returning home the doc-
tors would hold them to their undertaking.

The physicians begged the Sisters not to leave
the town, but to await the signal for departure. Expecting
all day and even until 11 P. M. to be sent for, and feeling
that rest was absolutely necessary, the Sisters were pre-
paring for bed when the kind lady of the house came into
their room, saying: 'TVIy dear, poor Sisters, a wagon and
your baggage are at the door for you." They soon left their
benevolent hostess, who wept to see them pursuing such
hardships. It was a genuine farm wagon, with two negroes
as drivers. The worthy pastor of Harper's Ferry, who
was determined not to leave the Sisters entirely to strang-
ers, attended to their trunks and found seats for them.
The heavy spray from both rivers was thick in the air.
Here and there a star appeared between broken clouds,
giving barely light enough to see the sentinels at their
posts. One of these, advancing, asked the countersign,
which the pastor gave him. The wagon, running on the

42 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

high terrace edge of the Potomac River, made, with the
darkness, a gloomy prospect for the Sisters,

On reaching the depot an officer met them and of-
fered to find them a shelter until the cars would arrive.
He took them across two boards that formed a temporary
bridge. By the aid of his lantern they could see water
on either side of them, so that they had to watch care-
fully and pick their steps lest they slip oif the boards.
At last he opened the door of a little hut, which was al-
most washed by the river. Here they entered and sat
down, resting their foreheads on their umbrellas until
between 3 and 4 o'clock, when a rumbling outside an-
nounced the arrival of the cars. The train reached
Winchester five hours later. Almost the entire town was
occupied by soldiers, so that accommodations at hotels
were not to be had for any consideration. The zealous
priest, who was still with the Sisters, took them to the
church, and afterwards went in search of lodgings for
them.

The church, which was of stone, and was one of the
poorest old buildings in the place, was located in the
suburbs. A crowd of ignorant and curious men and
children followed the Sisters as they walked to the edifice.
As they entered the church the bystanders crowded in
and about the door. When the Sisters went by turns to the
confessional the village men and boys hurried outside and
peeped through the cracks at the penitents, peering into
their very faces. Soon the priest v/ent out and as he did
so he shut and locked the door after him. After some
time he returned, although the Sisters feared that it was
just possible he had lost his mind and would not come
back. They knew his hardships had been excessive, be-

HAKPEE'S FERRY. 43

cause, besides being sick and witbout food or sleep, be
bad many otber inconveniences to contend witb. But
be returned and took tbem to a plain, wortby Catbolic
family.

Tbe following morning being Sunday tbey walked to
tbe cburcb, and just at tbe gate bad to bait to let a com-
pany of soldiers, on tbeir way to Mass, enter tbe cburcb.
About twenty or tbirty Catbolics constituted tbe congre-
gation usually, but on tbis day tbe soldiers and Sisters
made quite a crowded assembly. After tbat tbe Sisters
waited patiently for tbe doctors to take tbem to tbe scene
of tbeir labors. Tbe Reverend Dr. Costello bad called on
tbem from time to time, informing tbe autborities tbat
tbe Sisters were ready to go to work among tbe sick. Tbe
medical director finally asked tbem if tbey must remain
in one bospital, or wbetber eacb Sister could take cbarge
of a separate one. He was informed tbat tbeir number
was too small to divide and tbey would remain at one
of tbe bospitals.

Tbe beads of families in tbe city of Wincbester
remained in town, wbUe grown-up daugbters and cbildren
were sent to country seats, tbe motbers of tbese staying
at tbeir bouses, receiving and serving as many sick sol-
diers as tbey could. Tbe Sisters received mucb kindness
from tbese ladies, for tbey knew tbat tbe common rations
of tbe soldiers were very rougb. Indeed, one of tbe great-
est distresses of tbe Sisters at tbis time was tbat tbey
bad not more for tbe poor sick.

Tbe Sisters began tbeir labors in one of tbe largest
bospitals in Wincbester. Tbey worked incessantly day
and nigbt, frequently not pausing long enougb to take
necessary food and nourisbment for tbemselves, Sucb

44 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

labor began to show on them, especially as they were
only three in number. The doctors said that while more
nurses were needed there would be no way of sending
for more Sisters except by one of them going home and
returning with the others. Affairs had reached such a
crisis that only the Sisters of Charity could travel now.
One of them finally started off for the mother house, going
by car, then by stage, and then crossing the Potomac in a
flat canoe. Then she traveled by foot as fast as possi-
ble, and after running for a mile reached the raili'oad
car before it left the station.

The evening of next day she reached St. Joseph's, at
Emmitsburg, where she was received as if from the grave.
The anxious Superiors had heard nothing from or of the
Sisters except what meagre news was published of the
movements of the two armies. Sister Euphemia, after-
wards Mother Superior, left St. Joseph's at once with
three companions for Winchester, to relieve the Sisters
there. At the same time a telegram was sent to Sister
Valentine at St. Louis instructing her to go immediately
and replace Sister Euphemia in Winchester, who was
to proceed farther southward, for in Richmond, Va., the
Sisters were almost overcome with continuous duty.
The Sisters, now six in number, continued their labors
in Winchester until very few remained in the hospitals.
The convalescent members of the army had been leaving
Winchester for some days, going towards Richmond.
The Sisters themselves flually proceeded towards Rich-
mond.

CHAPTER V.

ST. LOUIS MILITARY HOSPITAL.

The border State of Missouri the scene of some of the most dramatic events
of the war. Soldiers ask the nurses if they are Free Masons. The
Chaplain obtains a pardon for a prisoner of war. Archbishop Ryan and
his work among the sick and wounded. The young Confederate who
declined to express sorrow for his course in the war. Amusing and
pathetic incidents.

In the meantime operations in the great civil conlliet
were beginning in the Southwest. The fact that Missouri
was a border State made it the scene of some of the most
dramatic events of the war. Thou-
sands of the sick and wounded of
both armies were cared for in St.
Louis. It was on the 12th of Au-
gust, 1861, that Major-General Fre-
mont, commanding the Department
of the West, established a military
hospital in the suburbs of St. Louis.

General Fremont desired that every attention should
be paid to the wounded soldiers. He visited them fre-
quently, and perceiving that there was much neglect on
the part of the attendants, applied to the Sisters of St.
Philomena's School for a sufficient number of them to
take charge of the hospital. He promised the Sisters, if

(45)

46 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

they would accept, to leave everything to their manage-
ment. There was no delay in acceding to this request.
Rev. James Francis Burlando, the Superior of the Sisters
of Charity, during a visit made to St. Philomena's School
a few months previous, had forseen the probability of such
an occurrence and given the Sisters directions to guide
them in such a case.

The Sisters had the superintendence of everything
relating to the sick in the hospital. Some of the soldier
attendants at first looked with wonder on the strange
dress and appearance of the new nurses, asking them if
they were Free Masons. The Sisters were, however,
treated with the greatest respect, so much so that not an
oath or disrespectful word was heard in the hospital
during the three years that they were there.

The hospital was visited every other day by tho ladies
of the Union Aid Society, who could not help admiring
the almost profound silence observed in the wards. They
could not understand the influence the Sisters exercised
over the patients, both sick and convalescent, who were
as submissive as children. The Archbishop of St. Louis,
the late Most Rev. P. R. Kenrick, D. D., was pleased when
he learned that the Sisters had been asked for at the
hospital. The prelate provided a chaplain, who said Ma,ss
every morning in the oratory arranged in their apart-
ment. After the Mass the chaplain visited every ward
instructing, baptizing and reconciling sinners to God.
There were hundreds of baptisms during the time the
Sisters were in the hospital, the greatest number of the
persons thus baptized dying in the hospital. The institu-
tion was closed at the end of the war, and the Sisters
returned to their former homes.

ST. LOUIS MILITARY HOSPITAL. 47

Father Burke was one of tlie priests who did a great
deal of work in the hospital, and he bears testimony to
the fact that the patients thought there were no persons
like the Sisters. They would often say: "Indeed, it was
not the doctor that cured us; it was the Sisters." When
returning to their regiment they would say: "Sisters, we
may never see you again, but be assured you will be very
gratefully remembered. Others would say: "Sisters, I
wis-h we could do something for you, but you do not seem
to want anything; besides, it is not in the power of any
poor soldier to make you anything like recompense. All
that we can do for you is to fight for you, and that we will
do until our last breath."

They preferred applying to the Sisters in cases where
they could do so than to the doctors, and as a result the
Sisters had a diflScuit task in encouraging them to have
confidence in the doctors. Every evening the Sisters were
accustomed to visit a tent a few yards distant from the
hospital, where the badly wounded cases were detained.
One night a Sister found a poor man whose hand had been
amputated from the wrist, suffering very much, the arm
being terribly inflamed. He complained that the doctor
had that morning ordered a hot poultice and that he had
not received it. The Sister called the nurse and wound-
dresser and inquired why the doctor's orders had not been
attended to. They told her that there were no hops in the
hospital; that the steward had gone to town that morning
before they knew it, and they had no other opportunity
of sending to obtain any that day. The Sisters imme-
diately sent across the yard to a bakery and got some hops
and had the poultice put on. The poor man was gratified
and surprised. "The Sisters," he said, "find ways and

48 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

means to relieve everyone, but others who make a profes-
sion of the work do not even know how to begin it."

When a new doctor came to the hospital it was from
the patients that he would learn to appreciate the value
ot the Sisters. When the patients returned to their regi-
ments they would say to their sick companions: "If you go
to St. Louis try to get to the House of Refuge Hospital;
the Sisters are there and they will soon make you well."
Late one evening a Sister went to see that nothing was
wanting for the sick. She found a man suffering from
intense pain in his forehead and temples. He had taken
cold in camp and the inflammation went to his eyes, so
that he became entirely blind. The pain in his forehead
was so intense that he thought he could not live until
morning. The Sister asked him to let her bind up his
forehead with, a wide bandage.

Oh, Sister," he said, "it is no use. The doctor has
been bathing my forehead with spirits of ether and other
liquids, and nothing will do me any good. I cannot live
until morning; my head is splitting open. But you may
do what you like."

She took a wide bandage which, unknown to him, was
saturated in chloroform, bound up his head and left him.
Early in the morning she went to ask him how he spent
the night. He said: "Oh, Sister, I have rested well; from
the moment you put your hands on my forehead I exper-
ienced no pain." He never thought of attributing the relief
to the chloroform, because he did not know of it, and the
Sister, feeling that in this case ignorance was bliss, did
not enlighten him.

The patients had the best of feeling toward the Sis-
ters, and when the medical doctor visited the hospital he

ST. LOUIS MILITARY HOSPITAL. 49

would stand in the middle of the ward and tell the patients
to whom they owed their comfort, the good order, cleanli-
ness and regularity that reigned there. He told them
that all these things came through the Sisters. It is a
notable fact that the respect with which they were treated
in the beginning never diminished, but went on increasing
while the hospital lasted.

Two of the prisoners of war, as the result of a court-
martial, were to be executed, but the worthy chaplain
who daily attended the prison obtained the pardon of one,
while the Sisters obtained that of the other. On one
occasion a soldier who was accused of desertion was sen-
tenced to be hanged, and the Sisters attended him until
all was over.

There was an elderly man confined in the prison hos^
pital who always found great pleasure in seeing to the
wants of his companions. He told the Sisters it made
him happy to see them get what they most desired. To-
ward the close of the war he obtained his release, and
afterwards sent fifty dollars to the Sisters to supply the
wants of the suffering sick. His son soon after this wa&
charged with some military offense, tried by court-martial
sentenced and executed. The young man became a
Catholic, and in his last moments received the consola-
tions of the Church. His remains were given up to his
family, and his father requested the clergyman who at-
tended him before his execution to preach the funeral
sermon, which the priest did in a Baptist church, where
his hearers were all Baptists.

One of the priests who was untiring in his work
among the soldiers in St. Louis during those heart-break-
ing days was Father Patrick John Ryan, now the Arch-

50 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

bishop of the great Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Early
in the war he was appointed a chaplain by the Govern-
ment, but resigned his position, feeling that he could do
better work among the Southern prisoners of war if he
appeared among them simply as a priest. The rector of
one of the Protestant Episcopal churches in St. Louis suc-
ceeded him as chaplain. Father Ryan is authority for the
statement that there were probably more baptisms in
this military hospital than on any of the battlefields or
in any other hospital of the Civil War.

He was a witness to many pathetic and humorous
incidents in the daily routine of hospital service. On one
occasion he was attending a poor drummer boy who was
only too surely approaching the end of his life of warfare.
He spoke to him gently of the things necessary to do under
such circumstances, instructed him to glance over his
past life and try and feel a genuine sorrow for all of his
sins and for anything he had done against his fellow-man.

The boy listened meekly for a while, but when he was
told to be sorry for all his wrong-doing a new light flashed
upon him. He half rose in bed and defiantly declared that
if this contemplated the severing of his allegiance to the
Southern Confederacy and an admission that the "Yan-
kees" were right he would have none of it. Half-amused
at the outburst, and not entirely unmoved at this flash
of spirit in what the lad no doubt deemed a righteous
cause, the good priest soon assured him that his mission
was not of the North or the South, but of God. The young
sufferer died soon after this with most edifying sentiments
upon his lips.

Sister Juliana, a sister of Bishop Chatard, of Vin-
cennes, who did good service in this and other hospitals,

Sr. LOUIS MILITARY HOSPITAL. 51

was the witness of many affecting death-bed scenes and
many wonderful death-bed conversions. Fervent aspira-
tions to heaven went up from the lips of men who had
never prayed before. Soldiers from the backwoods who
had known no religion and no God were in a few hours
almost transformed. It is estimated that priests and
Sisters baptized between five and six hundred persons at
this one hospital.

Archbishop Ryan tells the following incident that
came under his personal observation, and which John
Francis Maguire, Member of Parliament from Cork, has
incorporated in one of his works : (1)

"A Sister was passing through the streets of Boston
with downcast eyes and noiseless steps when she was
suddenly addressed in a language that made her pale
cheeks flush. The insult came from a young man standing
on a street corner. The Sister uttered no word of protest,
but raising her eyes gave one swift, penetrating look at
the brutal offender.

Time passed on; the war intervened. The scene
changed to a ward in a military hospital in Missouri. A
wounded soldier, once i>owerful but now as helpless as
ar. infant, was brought in and j'laced under llie care of
the Sisters of Charity. It was soon evident that the
man's hour had arrived; that he was not long for this
world. The Sister urged the man to die in the friendship
of God, to ask pardon for his sins, and to be sorry for what-
ever evil he might have done.

"I have committed many si us in my life," he said to
the Sister, ^'and I am sorry for them all and hope to be

(1). "The Irish in America."
3

62 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

forgiven ; but there is one thing that weighs heayy on my
mind at this moment. I once insulted a Sister of Charity
in the streets of Boston. Her glance of reproach has
haunted me ever since. I knew nothing of the Sisters
then. But now I know how good and disinterested you
are and how mean I was. Oh! if that Sister were only
here, weak and dying as I am, I would go down upon my
knees and ask her pardon."

The Sister turned to him with a look of tenderness
and compassion, saying: "If that is all you desire to set
your mind at ease you can have it. I am the Sister you
insulted and I grant you pardon freely and from my
heart."

"What! Are you the Sister I met in Boston? Oh, yes!
you are — I know you now. And how could you have at-
tended on me with greater care than on any of the other
patients? — me who insulted you so."

"It is our Lord's way," replied the Sister gently. "I
did it for His sake, because He loved His enemies and
blessed those who persecuted Him. I knew you from the
moment you entered the hospital. I recognized you from
the scar over your forehead, and I have prayed for you
unceasingly."

"Send for the priest!" exclaimed the dying soldier,
"the religion that teaches such charity must be from God."

And he died in the Sister's faith, holding in his
failing grasp the emblem of man's redemption, and mur-
muring prayers taught him by her whose glance of mild
rebuke had long filled him with remorse through every
scene of revelry or of peril."

Rev. John Bannon, S. J., was one of the priests who
performed efficient service as a chaplain during the war.

ST. LOUIS MILITAEY PIOSPITAL. 53

Father Bannon is now spending the autumn of his life
in performing the works of mercy and charity which go
to make up the life of a good priest, at St. Patrick's Ca-
thedral, Dublin, Ireland.

Writing of his wartime experience in a letter dated
December 10, 1897, he says:

"Twice only did I come into relations with the Sisters'
hospitals. The first time was at Corinth, Miss., after my
arrival with the Missouri troops from Arkansas. There
I found the Sisters of Charity (bonnet blanc), from Mobile,
Ala., in possession of an hospital, located in a large brick
building situated on a hill overlooking a railroad crossing
— for the town of Corinth was little more at that time.
During the temporary illness of Father Coyle, whO' was
chaplain of the nuns, I visited the hospital for him a few
times. On one occasion a Sister indicated to me a cot
in a distant corner of the ward, whereon lay a large, burly
man, heavily bearded and of uncompromising aspect. He
had been questioning the Sister about her religion and
desired further explanations; so I was asked to go see him
and give him satisfaction.

"After a few questions about his home and family, and
wounds and personal comfort, I asked him about the
nursing and treatment of the hospital, a question which
brought him to 'attention,' for he sat upright in bed, look-
ing at me sternly, and almost fiercely said :

" 'See, now Mister, if you come here to^ spy after the
Sisters you're in the wrong shop. There's not a man
wouldn't rise agin ye if you said a word agin them.
Don't do it. Don't do it, or I'll — ' and he fell back ex-
hausted.

54 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

' 'But, my friend/ I said, "I'm a friend of tkeirs ; I'm
a priest.'

" 'A priest,' he repeated, and then, sitting up again, he
called out: 'Sister, Sister, this man says he's a priest;
is he?'

"To which the Sister answered, 'Yes,' and he feU back
saying, 'All right. Mister, now I want to know if any
man ever believed such things as the Sister told me.'

"I assured him that I believed them aU and had come
at the Sister's request to explain them to him.

" 'All right, Mister, go ahead now.'

"So I proceeded to speak of Grod and the Trinity and
principal m^^steries. He demurred to every word I said,
especially to the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, and to
each new installment of doctrine would sit up in bed and
call to the Sister (at the other end of the ward), repeat to
her my statement, and ask her was that true, to which
when she answered 'yes' he would fall back on his pillow
and with a sigh of resignation say: 'All right, Mister, go
ahead now, I believe it,' and so on. He accepted my
teaching only on the word of the Sister, and on his faith
in the Sister I baptized him and left him happy. I had
not reached the door of the ward when he called me back,
'Say, Mister, do ye reckon I'U git better?'

" 'Yes, I think so ; at least I hope so.'

"His countenance fell visibly. But after a few sec-
onds he looked up and said :

' 'Whisper down nearer to me,' and so pulling my head
quite close to his mouth he whispered : 'If I get well I'll
have to leave the Sisters. I'd rather stay and die than
leave them. Good-bye. God bless ye. Pray for me,' and
so we parted.

"PEACE FOR HER."

ST. LOUIS MILITARY HOSPITAL. 55

"Subsequently I heard Dr. Lynch, late Bishop of
Charleston, narrate a very like experience.

"The only other occasion that I remember visiting
a Sisters' hospital was before the siege of Vicksburg, at
Jacksonville, Miss. The hospital was located in a large
hotel, downtown. As I entered the door I found the
hallway occupied for its length by two rows of sick
soldiers stretched on the floor, each wrapped in his old
worn blanket with his small bundle for a pillow. A tall,
gaunt, poor fellow had just come in and was spreading his
blanket, preparing to lie down. A Sister approached
and asked him for his ticket. He made no answer, but
having finished his preparations lay down and then pro-
ceeded to search for the paper. When found, after a
long search, he handed it to the Sister, who, glancing
at it, said:

"TVfy good man, this is not for us. It is for the
hospital in the Capital.'

" 'That mought be,' he answered, 'and I reckon it is.
But that don't matter anyhow. This is my hospital, and
I'll stay here, wherever the ticket's for. Think I'm
gwine t'anywhar but the Sisters' ?'

"And so he was tolerated and adopted by the Sisters,
for though inconvenient to the nuns it was consoling and
encouraging to them when they foud their services so
appreciated by their patients.

From Jacksonville I went to Port Gibson, and then
to Vicksburg. There were not any Sisters at either place.
After the fall of Vicksburg I went to Mobile, where 1
visited the Sisters^ hospital, but was not on duty there or
elsewhere up to my departure for Europe by the Steamer
R. E. Lee, via Wilmington, N. C, and Halifax."

56 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Many of the episodes of the war with which the Sis-
ters were associated would in their intensity and unique-
ness furnish the basis for stories and dramas more won-
derful than anything yet written by the novelists or
constructed by the playwrights. Here was frequently
illustrated the poet's contention that truth is stranger
than fiction. One instance containing all of the elements
that go to make up a romance comes to mind. The two
principal figures in it were a sweet Sister of Charity,
burning with love for her fellow creatures, and willing
to lay down life itself in the cause of suffering humanity,
and a brave soldier, filled with patriotism for his country,
brought to the point of death by a malignant fever; nursed
back to life and finally, twenty-five years after the
war, giving an exhibition of gratitude as rare as it is
beautiful.

Thomas Trahey was born in Detroit, Mich., in 1844,
and was the only son of devoted parents. When the war
began he was about 17 years of age. Flushed with the
vigor and energy of youth he desired to enlist at once.
He did not succeed in carrying out his wish, however,
until August, 1862, when he enlisted in Company H,
Sixteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. When he was
mustered out at the close of the war it was as sergeant
of his command. He was commended many times by his
superiors for gallantry in action. In the battle of Fred-
ericksburg, December 13, 1862, he was struck by the frag-
ment of a shell and severely wounded in the left breast.
He was left on the battlefield all night, but finally received
attention at the hands of Dr. R, F. Weir, who was in
charge of the hospital at Fi'ederick City.

Trahev recovered from this and went to the front

ST. LOUIS MILITARY HOSPJTAL. 57

again with his regiment. After the battle of Gettysburg
he was taken with typhoid fever, which soon assumed
a malignant form. Dr. Gray, of Philadelphia, who was
in charge of Barracks H, in the United States General
Hospital, at Frederick City, made a careful diagnosis
of the case and said that Trahey, who was weakened
from the effects of his previous wounds and suffering,
could not possibly recover.

It was at this juncture that Sister Louise appeared
upon the scene. She inquired if careful nursing would
not save the man's life. The physician said that it was
one chance in a thousand, but that if anything could
prolong the soldier's existence it was the patient and per-
sistent care and watchfulness of a Sister of Charity.

"Then," she exclaimed, "I will undertake the case."

Sister Louise had been detailed from the Mother
House at Emmitsburg, and, though young in years, had
acquired considerable experience, which added to het
marvelous devotedness to duty and self-forgetfulness had
made her phenomenally successful in the hospitals and
camps. She was born of French-Canadian parents in
Toronto. She was a devout child, and early gave evidence
of a desire to embrace the religious state. Consequently
the whole of her early childhood was a preparation for
the life she was to enter. At an early age she came
to the United States and took the vows of Chastity,
Poverty and Obedience, and became a daughter of St.
Vincent.

At the time she was performing her labors at Fred-
erick City she was only 19 years of age, and was, more-
over, possessed of unusual beauty. Day and night she
remained at the bedside of her patient, frequently depriv-

58 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

ing herself of food and rest in order to minister to his
slightest wish. Finally he recovered, only to have a
relapse, which resulted in a severe case of smallpox.
This did not dismay the devoted nurse. She renewed
her energies. For three weeks after he became conva-
lescent the Sister fed him with a spoon.

Just as the patient was pronounced out of danger
the Sister was ordered away to another station, where
her pious attentions were given to other cases as serious
and as dangerous as the ordeal she had just gone through.
Sergeant Trahey returned to the front from his hospital
cot, and was wounded once again at White Oak Road,
Va., on March 29, 1865. He recovered and soon after, at
the termination of the war, returned to his home. For
several years he was unable by reason of his weakened
physical condition to perform any of the ordinary duties
of life.

After he had recovered he determined to seek the
whereabouts of the Sister in order to thank her for the
self-sacrificing care she had taken of him during the
most critical period of his life. As he expressed it at the
time, he was "willing to travel from Maine to California
merely to get a glimpse of her holy face,"

Sergeant Trahey first wrote to the Mother House of
the order, at Emmitsburg, Md., and received a reply that
Sister Louise had been ordered to St. Louis soon after
the war and had died there in 1867 of malignant typhoid
fever, the same disease that had so nearly ended the
life of the soldier. She expired at the Ninth and Madison
Streets Hospital, St. Louis, and was buried in Calvary-
Cemetery, in that city. The grateful soldier had the grave

ST. LOUIS MILITAEY HOSPITAL. 59

cared for, and decorated it with religious regularity on
eacih recurring Memorial Day. Frequently he would visit
the grave in company with his wife and family, per-
forming a pious pilgrimage at once picturesque and edify-
ing. The desire to render the memory of Sister Ix)uise
some service took a strong hold on him at this time. He
determined that the good Sister should have a better
tombstone than the modest little headpiece that occupied
a place over her grace. That there could possibly be
any objection to such an act of devotion and gratitude
never once occurred to the old soldier. He had the stone
cut at a nearby marble yard, but when the matter was
brought to the attention of the superintendent of the
cemetery the latter sent a communication to the church
authorities recommending that the request be refused,
as the grave was already provided with such a headstone
as marked the resting places of other members of the
order. At last the veteran called on Sister Magdalena,
the local Superior, and gave her a full account of the
case. He recited in detail the unusual service that had
been rendered him by the deceased Sister. The Superior
questioned him very closely regarding the character of
the stone that he desired to erect, and was particularly
anxious to know its exact dimensions. She was very
much impressed with his story, and expressed a desire
to accede to his wishes if it could be done without
ostentation or the appearance of any unnecessary show
in the Sisters' section of the cemetery. She took his
request under advisement, and early in 1895 he was
given permission to erect the stone.

The simple monument of a Sister's devotion to duty
and an old soldier's gratitude is in the shape of a rustic

60 ANGELS OF THE BATPLEFIELD.

cross beautifully ergraved. On it is inscribed the fol-
lowing:

To Sister Regenia La Croix,

Died March, 1867, in this city.

Erected as a Tribute of Gratitude

From an Old Soldier.

T. T.

The grave Is regularly decorated with choice plants
and flowers, and on Memorial Day especially it attracts
hundreds of visitors. The old soldier, with a show of
pardonable pride, says there is nothing like it that has
been erected over the grave of a Sister of Charity by any
old soldier during or since the war in this country.

The name upon the cross over the grave was the
name of the Sister in the world. She was known in
religion by the title of Sister Louise.

Speaking of the services rendered him by Sister
Louise Sergeant Tra.hey says:

"She was my only attendant, and no mother could
have beeen more tender or faithful. She brought me
dainties which I knew were almost priceless at the time,
and books that were as rare as gold, and in a thousand
ways did she add to my obligations. Naturally I became
greatly attached to her, and there is nothing in reason
that I could do to perpetuate her memory that I would
not do. Her beautiful face and kind attentions have ever
remained to me as one of the most precious memories
of my existence, I have not the slightest doubt but that
she saved my life. A glass of water given me from her

ST. LOUIS MILITAKY HOSPITAL. 61

hand seemed to infuse new life and strength into me.
Whenever she approached my humble cot she brought
sunshine and holiness with her. Every time I meet a
Sister of Charity upon the street I am reminded of my
ever-faithful nurse. I say, and I repeat with all reverence
and fervenc}^, God bless her. I believe she is now praying
for me in heaven."

This is one of the romances of the war, illustrating in
a high degree the heroism of self-sacrifice and the beauty
of gratitude. There are no doubt many other similar
incidents on record, differing somewhat in detail, but
all tending to show the love and reverence that invariably
followed the noble self-sacrifices of the Sisters.

CHAPTER VI.

IN AND AROUND WASHINGTON.

Dilapidated frame buildings serve as hospitals at the National Capital. A
convalescent patient who was "tired and vexed." A whole day spent
in going from store to store in a vain attempt to purchase " one of those
white bonnets" for a Sister. The soldier whose life was saved by being
"shot in the U. S. A."

When the fratricidal conflict between the sec-
tions began very few persons paused to consider its
extent and consequence. But as each week passed it
grew in intensity and volume. In
the beginning of the year 1862 at
least 450,000 Union troops were in
the field, and half of that number
were under the command of Gen-
eral McClellan in and around Wash-
ington. Upon the breaking out of
hostilities old Virginia had at once become the principal
arena of the contending armies of the East. The Confed-
erate capital being at Richmond and the Union seat of
Government at Washington, D. C, only a short stretch of
country south of the Potomac River separated the armies.
A disastrous defeat at Bull Run on the 21st of July,
1861, caused the Union Army to retreat to Washington.
There were various minor engagements both before and

(62)

IN AND ABOUND WASHINGTON. 63

after this date, but nothing of unusual consequence oc-
curred until February, 1862, when General U. S. Grant,
commanding the land forces, and Commodore Foote the
gunboats, captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee, and
Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in Kentucky.
It was on this occasion, when the commander of Fort
Donelson asked for terms, that Grant gave the now his-
toric reply: "No terms except immediate and uncon-
ditional surrender can be accepted. I propose to move
immediately upon your works."

Some time before this the Confederate and Union
forces realized that they were insufficiently provided with
trained nurses. In the early part of 1862 the Government
made a formal request ujwn the Sisterhoods for nurses.
The Sisters of Charity were requested to send a deputa-
tion to attend the sick and wounded in the temporary
hospitals at Washington. These hospitals consisted of
a number of rather dilapidated frame buildings and var-
ious tents which had been improvised into structures for
hospital purposes.

The Sisters were promptly assigned from the mother
house at Emmittsburg, Md. When they arrived at the
National Capital they found the buildings and tents
crowded with patients. The majority of these had been
brought in from battlefields in the vicinity of Washington.
The Sisters endeavored to look after the temporal needs
of the men, in many instances acting in the dual capacity
of doctor and nurse. There were many incidents, some
of them of a humorous, most of them of a decidedly ser-
ious character.

While the nurses were rushing from one cot to an-

64 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

other a poor man who was in a dying state cried out at
the top of his voice, "I want a clergyman."

One of the Sisters hastened to him and aslced : "What
clergyman do you want?"

He replied : "A white bonnet clergyman ; the one you
ladies have."

"But you are not a Catholic?" said the Sister.

"1 know that, but I want to see a Catholic priest."

After a slight delay a clergyman reached his bed-
side. The poor patient reached his skeleton-like hand to
the priest and began as follows: "In the Bible we read 'as
the Father hath sent Me, I also send you, and whose sins
you shall forgive are forgiven.' Now tell me has that order
ever been countermanded in any part of the Bible?"

The priest replied with a smile : "No, my son ; it is the
same now as it ever was and ever s,hall be."

"Well," said the sick man, "I have never disobeyed an
order when one who gave that order had authority to com-
mand. Therefore being a good soldier I wish to fulfill that
order in every respect."

As he was not in immediate danger and a man of
considerable intelligence the priest told him he would
come and see him again. The soldier asked for a cate-
chism or any book that would instruct him in the white
bonnet religion. Later he made a confession of his whole
life and was baptized on the following Sunday morning
in the chapel in the presence of the entire congregation.
He said he did not wish to be baptized behind closed
doors, but wished all to know that he was a Catholic.
While he remained in the hospital he would go from one
patient to another reading and explaining what had been
explained to him. Several of the soldiers argued with

IN AND AEOUND WASHINGTON. 65

him upon the subject of religion, but with the Bible in
one hand and the little catechism in the other he would
put them all to silence.

One dreary night a score of ambulances drove up to
the hospital grounds with sixty-four wounded men. Of
this number fifty-six had been shot in such a manner as
to necessitate amputation of either a leg or an arm. In-
deed, a few of the unfortunates were deprived of both legs.

Some died in the short while it took to Temove them
from the ambulance to the ward. The Siisters went from
bed to bed doing all they could to minimize the sufferings
of the soldiers. Two of the patients were very disrespect-
ful to one of the Sisters, showing anger and telling them
to begone. The nurse in charge quietly walked away.
After a little while another Sister went to them and
asked if they wished her to write to anyone for them.
They did, and she wrote as they dictated, then read it to
them and left. By this time they began to reflect on the
kindness that had been show them and soon appreciated
the fact that the Sisters were indeed their friends.

Of the sixtj^-four wounded men eight died the next
day. There were thirty bodies in the dead house, although
it was the custom to bury two a day. For a while the pa-
tients suffered from smallpox, which added very much to
the labors of the Sisters, since such patients had to be
separated and quarantined from the others. Several died
from the disease. One of the Sisters who waited upon
them took it, but recovered. Many of the patients who
seemed to dislike and fear the Sisters found they had
been mistaken in the opinions they had formed of them.
They often showed their confidence by wanting to place
their money in the custody of the Sisters.

66 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

One day a poor fellow obtained a pass and spent tlie
entire day in the city and returned at twilight looking
sad and fatigued. A Sister of his ward asked him if he
was suffering, and he replied : "No, Sister ; but I am tired
and vexed. I received my pass early to-day. and walked
through every street in Washington trying to buy one
of those white bonnets for you and did not find a single
one for sale."

There are amusing stories of life in the hospitals, and
on the field, and the following one is vouched for by
Mather M. Alphonse Butler:

"Every Union soldier wore a belt with the initials
'U. S. A.' — United States Army. When a wounded man
was brought to the hospital notice was given to the Sister
and she would at once prepare to dress the wound. One
day a man was brought in on a litter, pale and unconscious,
and the Sister rushed to give him attention. By degrees
he became conscious, and the Sister asked him where he
was wounded. He seemed bewildered at first, but grad-
ually his mind returned. Again the Sister asked him
where he was wounded. A smile spread over his face.

"It is all right, Sister," he said; "don't disturb your-
self."

"Oh, no," she said, "they tell me you were shot."

"Yes," he answered, "I was shot, but shot in the U.
S. A."

The Sister understood at once the bullet had struck
the initials on his belt, and they had saved his life.

The Sisters were the witnesses of some very pathetic
incidents. The battlefield of Bull Run supplied its full
share of these. One of the brave Union men who was
killed in that disastrous engagement was Lieutenant

IN AND AROUND WASHINGTON. 67

Colonel Haggerty, of the Sixty-nintli New York Regiment.
It appears that Haggerty had interred the remains of a
child on the field and had enclosed it with an improvised
railing. At the head of the little mound was a narrow
bit of board, upon which was inscribed with small capitals
in ink the following:

Strangers Here lies the remains of
please do not Harriet Osborn,

injure this aged 8 years,

in closure.

Beneath this is written in pencil the following lines :

"When the storm clouds around us gather,

And this world seems dark and drear,
Let us look beyond the darkness

Which hovers o'er our pathway here;
Look beyond this world of sorrow

To the regions of the blesft,
Where the wicked cease from troubling

And the weary are at rest.

—Haggerty, Co. B, 69th Reg't.

Haggerty must have been killed soon after perform-
ing this touching act, for beneath the inscription is ap-
pended this brief mortuary record:

Haggerty was killed at Bull Run
July 21, 1861.

A correspondent of one of the Northern newspapers,
writing to his journal at the time said :

"This little memorial of one of the most conspicuous

men of the Union cause among the New York troops —

over whose fall one of his brother officers, Thomas Francis

Meagher, delivered at Jones' Wood so heart-rending a

4

68 ANGrELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

eulogy — will be read with interest by hundreds of those
who remember him, proving, as it does, that the stern,
fierce, devoted soldier found time in the very moment
or danger to consider the fate of others."

At a meeting of the Board of Offlcers of the Sixty-
ninth Regiment, held at their armory on AprU 3, 1862,
Captain Theodore Kelly, Lieutenant T, M. Canton and
Lieutenant Fahy were appointed a committee to proceed
to the battlefield of Bull Run and bring back to New
York the remains of their lamented brother officer, who
had fallen while gallantly leading a charge of the regi-
ment in the memorable conflict of July 21. The officers
indicated performed their mission and the body was
re-interred near the brave Haggerty's home, in New York
City.

A letter received by the Sisters from Huntsville,
Ala., dated May 26, 1862, contains the following touching
passage :

"A few days ago a prisoner in the hands of General
Mitchell, named Cobb, a relative of Howell Cobb, died
in the hospital at this place. A Federal offlcer visited
the prison, as was his daily wont, and, learning the
facts, asked the other prisoners if they would not like
to attend the funeral. The reply was yes, but they
could not hope to have such a boon accorded to them
in view of their peculiar situation. The oflScer at once
repaired to the quarters of General Mitchell, stated the
case and received an order for their permission to
accompany the remains of their comrade to their last
resting place. He returned to the prison with the order,
exacted a promise that they should not seek to escape,
and put the party in charge of Father Tracey, the resident
Catholic pastor at Huntsville.

IN AND AEOUND WASHINGTON. 69

"The procession wended its way to the cemetery,
when the young ladies of the town strewed the coffin
and the grave of the young soldier with the rarest flowers
of the garden, and evinced in the most unmistakable
manner their sympathy and their ardent love for the cause
of the South. The scene was at once solemn, grand
and affecting. There lay the earthly remains of the
devoted soldier in the narrow house of clay, and there
assembled hundreds of the fairest daughters of Hunts-
ville to shed the parting tear over the corpse of the hero
of their cause and garland the grave of the young
rebel with the choicest products of their sunny bowers.
There stood the minister of religion, chanting the office
of his church for the repose of the soul of the departed,
surrounded by the witching forms of angelic traitors
who made the air fragrant with the odor of their treason,
and comingling their anathemas of the Union with the
prayers of the priest. The sermon over, the prisoners
returned to their gloomy quarters, where they passed
a series of resolutions thanking the officer for his kindness
and Greneral Mitchell for the courtesy he extended, and
closing with the hope that the day might not be far
distant when the defenders of the South and the de-
fenders of the Union could shake hands and fight by
each other's side for a common cause.

"To-day the men and officers of the Fifteenth Ken-
tucky followed to the same spot the remains of Bernard
McGinnis, who died from a wound received at Winchester,
and over whose grave the same Father Tracey performed
similar services to those which he had done before for
young Cobb. How beautiful it seemed to the beholder

70 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

to look upon the same minister amid the tumult of war,
contending passions and the fearful excerbations of the
public mind, lift up his voice to the throne of the
Most High and solicit the pledges of faith for the soul
of the young Georgian, and the faithful Irishman, without
a prejudice for one or a partiality for the other."

CHAPTER VII.

SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH.

Terrible loss of life at the battle of Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh. Sister
Anthony wins enduring laurels. Seven hundred wounded soldiers
crowded on one boat. The deck of the vessel resembles a slaughter
house. A Sister of Charity acts as assistant surgeon. Sisters refuse
to abandon their patients. Sketch of the life of Sister Anthony.

The battle of Shiloh, Tenn., sometimes known as
the battle of Pittsburg Landing, was one of the great com-
bats of the war. Shiloh cost the Union army in killed,
wounded and prisoners 14,000
men, while the Confederates lost
10,700 men, including General Al-
bert Sidney Johnston, who fell in
the first day's fight. The battles
were fought on the 6th and 7th of
April, 1862. The morning of the
6th was clear and beautiful, with
no indications of a storm ; but the
day's terrific battle was followed
by a night of drenching rain. The battle of the next day
was also succeeded by a fearful storm, which in this case
consisted of rain, hail and sleet. An eye-witness writing
of this says: "And to add to the horrors of the scene, the
elements of Heaven marshaled their forces — a fitting ac-

(71)

SISTER AMTHONY.

72 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

companiment to the tempest of human devastation and
passion that was raging. A cold, drizzling rain com-
menced about nightfall and soon came harder and faster,
then turned to pitiless, blinding hail. This storm raged
with unrelenting violence for three hours. I passed long
wagon trains filled with wounded and dying soldiers with-
out even a blanket to shield them from the driving sleet
and hail which fell in stones as large as par-tridge eggs un-
til it lay on the ground two inches deep." (1).

It was by the work that she did at and after this bat-
tle that Sister Anthony, a notable member of the Sisters
of Charity, won enduring laurels. She left Cincinnati for
Shiloh, accompanied by two other Sisters of Charity, Dr.
Blackman, of Cincinnati; Mrs. Hatch and daughter. Miss
McHugh, Mrs. O'Shaughnessy and some charitable ladies
of the Queen City. This trip was made on Captain Ross'
boat, under the care of Dr. Blackman, Sister Anthony,
whose mind is unimpaired and whose memory is excellent,
thus tells of her experience at Shiloh :

"At Shiloh we ministered to the men on board what
were popularly known as the floating hospitals. We were
often obliged to move farther up the river, being unable
to bear the terrific stench from the bodies of the dead on
the battlefield. This was bad enough, but what we en-
dured on the field of battle while gathering up the wound-
ed is simply beyond description. At one time there were
700 of the poor soldiers crowded in one boat. Many were
sent to our hospital in Cincinnati. Others were so far
restored to health as to return to the scene of war. Many
died good, holy deaths. Although everything seemed dark

(1). From "War and Weather," by Edward Powers (c. e.), Dela-
van, Wisconsin, 1890.

SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH. 73

and gloomy, some amusing incidents occurred. Some days
after the battle of Shiloh. the young surgeons went off on
a kind of lark, and Dr. Blackman took me as assistant in
surgical operations, and I must acknowledge I was much
pleased to be able to assist in alleviating the sufferings of
these noble men.

"The soldiers were remarkably kind to one another.
They went around the battlefield giving what assistance
they could, placing the wounded in comfortable places,
administering cordials, etc., until such time as the nurses
could attend to the wounded and sick. I remember one
poor soldier whose nose had been shot off, who had almost
bled to death and would have been missed had we not
discovered him in a pen, where some kind comrade had
placed him before he left the field, every other place of
refuge being occupied. His removal from the pen caused
great pain, loss of blood, etc. The blood ran down hi&
shirt and coat sleeves, down his pantaloons and into his
very boots. He was very patient in the boat up the river.
On arriving in Cincinnati he was placed in a ward in our
hospital. Shortly after his arrival in the city a gentleman
came to Cincinnati and called at the Burnett House, which
was then used as a military hospital, inquiring for his son.
After searching everywhere else he called at St. John's
Hospital. I met this sorrowing father just as I was leav-
ing the hospital to attend to some business. From the de-
scription he gave I concluded that the boy without the
nose must be his son. I took him to the ward. When we
reached the bed where the man lay the father did not
know him.

" Well,' said he, 'if he is my child I shall know him

74 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

by his head,' Running his fingers through the boy's hair
he exclaimed : 'My son ! my dear boy !'

"There was one young man under the care of Sister
De Sales. This Sister spoke to him of heaven, of God and
of his soul. Of God he knew nothing, of heaven he never
heard, and he was absolutely ignorant of a Supreme Be-
ing. He became much interested in what the Sister said
and was anxious to know something more of this good
God of whom the Sister spoke. This good Sister of Char-
ity instructed him, and, no priest being near, she baptized
him and soon his soul took its flight to that God whom he
so late learned to know and love.

"Were I to enumerate all the good done, conversions
made, souls saved, columns would not suffice. Often have
I gazed at Sister De Sales, as she bent over the cots of
those poor boys, ministering to their every want, in the
stillness of the night. Ah! here is one to whom she gives
a cool drink, here another whose amputated and aching
limbs need attention, there an old man dying, into
whose ears she whispers the request to repeat those
beautiful words: 'Lord, have mercy on my soul!' I
asked myself: 'Do angels marvel at this work?'

"Day often dawned on us only to renew the work of the
preceding day, without a moment's rest. Often the decks
of the vessels resembled a slaughter house, filled as they
were with the dead and dying."

The following is what an eye-witness says of Sister
Anthony : "Amid this sea of blood she performed the most
revolting duties for those poor soldiers. Let us follow her
as she gropes her way among the wounded, dead and dy-
ing. She seemed to me like a ministering angel, and many
a young soldier owes his life to her care and charity. Let
us gaze at her again as she stands attentive kindness and

SISTEE ANTHONY AT SHILOH. 75

assists Dr. Blackman while the surgeon is amputating
limbs and consigning them to a watery grave, or as she
picks her steps in the blood of these brave boys, admin-
istering cordial or dressing wounds."

A Sister relates a sad story of a young man who was
shot in the neck. The wound was very deep From the
effect of this and the scorching rays of the sun he suffered
a burning thirst. He was too weak to move, when sudden-
ly the rain fell down in torrents. Holding out his weak
hands, he caught a few drops, which sustained life until
he was found among the dead and dying on the battle-
field. Cordials were given which relieved him. His looks
of gratitude were reward enough. Many other soldiers
who were thought to be dying eventually recovered.

After the Sisters had finished their work at Shiloh
they followed the army to Corinth, where the Confederates
had retreated. The river was blocked by obstacles in the
stream and progress by boat was necessarily slow.
Finally the impediments became so thick that the
boat was stopped altogether. The vessel was crowd-
ed and the situation was a critical one.
The captain finally said that it was a matter of life and
death and that the Sisters would have to flee for their
lives. To do this it would have been necessary to aban-
don their patients, who were enduring the greatest misery
on the boat. This the Sisters heroically refused to do. All
expressed their willingness to remain with the "wounded
boys" until the end and to share their fate, whatever it
might be. Such heroism melted the hearts of hardened
men. The Sisters fell on their knees and called on the
"Star of the Sea"to intercede for them, that the bark might
be guarded from all harm. And their prayer was an-

76 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

swered. Two brave pilots came, who steered the boat to
their destination and to a place of safety.

After the war Dr. Blackman became an active mem-
ber of the medical staff of the Good Samaritan Hospital
in Cincinnati and ever proved a sincere friend of Sister
Anthony. The Sisters unite in praising the services of
Mrs. Hatch and her daughter. Miss Hatch was a most
estimable lady, who bestowed upon the soldiers the great-
est of charity and kindness. Many of them called her
"Sister Jennie," a rare compliment for one who was not
a religious.

The groans of the soldiers on the battlefield of Shiloh
still linger in the memories of many of the Sisters. Sister
Anthony and her colleagues frequently picked their way
through the files of the dead and wounded, and on many
occasions assisted in carrying the sufferers to the boatfc>
These floating hospitals were unique in many ways, but
they will ever remain memorable as the scenes of the Sis
ters' greatest triumphs, where they did so much for the
cause of humanity and where so many unwarranted preju-
dices were removed from the minds of brave men.

Among the war Sisters none was regarded with
more affection and reverence than this same Sister An-
thony, who spent her last years near Cincinnati, sur-
rounded with , all the loving attentions and comforts
that should go with honorable old age. Her work for
humanity was spread over a long series of years, and
the heroic labors she performed during the war form but
an episode in a busy and useful career. But it was a bril-
liant episode, one that deserves to be handed down to
history and that brought fadeless laurels to a modest and
unpretending woman.

Sister Anthony O'Connell was bom in Limerick,

SISTER ANTHONY

SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH. 77

Ireland, of pious Catholic parents. She came with
them to this country at an early age, and, in pursuance of
a long-cherished idea, renounced the world and was vested
with the familiar habit of the Sisters of Charity. Her
novitiate and earlier years in the order were spent at Em-
mittsburg, Md. Finally she was placed in charge of a
community at Cincinnati. According to good people in
that city who carefully watched her career, she dis-
played unusual devotion, business talent and self-sacrifice.
Through her exertions an orphan asylum was founded at
Cumminsville, where large numbers of friendless and
homeless children were cared for and reared to a sense of
their responsibility to God and man.

When the civil war broke out Governor David Tod
Issued a call for volunteer nurses. Alive to the necessities
of the occasion. Sister Anthony relinquished the care of
her asylum to other hands and, taking a band of Sisters
with her, oli'ered their services. Their work was in the
South, most of it being in and around Nashville, Shiloh,
Richmond, Ky.; New Creek and Cumberland. Colonel
John S. Billings, M. D., now of the Surgeon General's of-
fice at Washington, is one of the physicians having per-
sonal knowledge of Sister Anthony, and he speaks of her
in the very highest terms. "I first knew Sister Anthony,"
he said to the writer, "in 1859, when she was in charge of
the old St. John's Hospital, on Fourth street, Cincinnati,
in which I was resident physician, and I have known her
ever since. I can say very cordially that she was a com-
petent hospital manager and that I have always had the
greatest respect and affection for her." (1).

(1). Dr. John Shaw Billings was born in Switzerland County,
Ind., April 12, 1839. He received hia degree in medicine in 1860,
and the following year was appointed demonstrator of anatomy in

78 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD,

Sister Anthony and her brave assistants spent many
months in Nashville. The care and attention that was be-
stowed upon the sick and wounded soldiers of both the
Union and Confederate armies did much to dispel the
thoughtless prejudices that had previously existed against
the Sisters, They went about like good angels, easing
many a troubled spirit and showering love ujwn all with
whom they came in contact. Sister Anthony stood out
in bold relief from all the others, and one who has knowl-
edge of those times says: "Happy was the soldier who,
wounded and bleeding, had her near him to whisper words
of consolation and courage. Her person was reverenced by
Blue and Gray, Protestant and Catholic alike, and the
love for her became so strong that the title of the 'Flor-
ence Nightingale' of America was conferred upon her, and
soon her name became a household word in every section
of the North and South." Many of the Sisters with whom
she worked fell upon the field of honor, but Sister An-
thony lived and survived to enjoy a peaceful old age and
the sweet thought and consolation of work well done.

The ending of the war, however, did not end her
work. After the white wings of peace had been spread
OA er the battlefields she returned to Cincinnati and made
an effort to found an asylum that should be larger and
greater than old St. John's, where she had labored be-
fore the war. For a time it looked as if this noble inten-

the Medical College of Ohio. The same year he was appointed an
assistant surgeon in the United States army, in which position he con-
tinued until placed in charge of the hospital at Washington, in 1863.
He was later appointed medical inspector of the Army of the Poto-
mac. In 3894 he was appointed surgeon general, and placed in
charge of the division of vital statistics. In addition to this he has
been medical advisor to trustees of the Johns Hopkins University.

SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH. 79

tion was to be frustrated. Funds were not available and
tlie usually charitable people of the city seemed to be in-
different. They only seemed, however, for just when the
effort was about to be given up in despair, John C. But-
ler and Lewis Worthington, two of the wealthy men of
the city, came forward with sufficient money to build and
equip a magnificent institution. The result of this was
the establishment of the Good Samaritan Hospital. Sis-
ter Anthony was placed in charge and the work she did
there equaled, if it did not exceed, her war experiences.
Already a model nurse, she became a model hospital man-
ager. In the hospital she increased her great knowledge
and made a science of nursing the sick. She remained in
executive control of the institution until 1882, when de-
voted friends finally prevailed upon her to relinquish her
task and live in peace and quiet the remainder of her life.
She has had several successors, the one now in charge be-
ing Sister Sebastian.

Sister Anthony departed this life at 6 P. M. on Wed-
nesday, December 8, 1897, in her room, in St. Joseph's
Maternity Hospital and Infant Asylum, conducted by the
Sisters of Charity at Norwood, O. Her last days were
as tranquil and peaceful as the most devoted friend
could desire. The fortnight before her death was spent
chiefly in prayer. On the Saturday prior to her demise
she received Holy Communion in the chapel attached
to the hospital. It was destined to be her last visit to
the holy table she loved so much. That same day she
was prostrated and compelled to take her bed. Here
she remained until she calmly expired on the following
Wednesday.

Sister Anthony made her home with the Sisters at

80 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Norwood during the last few years of lier life. Her love
for the poor unfortunates of the hospital and the help-
less little foundlings in the asylum was boundless. Not-
withstanding her extreme age she was very active and
delighted to mingle with the inmates every morning,
giving them words of comfort and consolation and in a
hundred and one little ways trying to lighten theic
burdens. She was ever cheerful and kind, and those who
knew her best cannot recall an instance where a word
of impatience or complaint ever escaped her lips.

The news of her death created great sorrow among
the old soldiers, with whom she was a great favorite.
Many military organizations took formal action as an
evidence of their regard and esteem. For instance,
William H. Lytle Post, Grand Army of the Republic,
passed the following resolutions of respect:

'Whereas, The venerable Sister Anthony departed
this life on Wednesday afternoon, after a life of useful-
ness in taking care of the sick and doing boundless
charity, and

"Whereas, She was one of the most active nurses
during the war, doing many kind, silent acts, and

'Whereas, She will be buried from St. Peter's
Cathedral, Saturday, at 9 o'clock, be it

"Resolved, That, in order to show our gratitude and
affection for her and appreciation of her services as an
anny nurse, we attend her funeral and invite all other
posts to participate with us,"

It is the usual custom for the Sisters of Charity to
be buried from the mother house, but in recognition of
the great services of Sister Anthony the Archbishop or-

SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH. 81

dered that the funeral be from the Cathedral. The body
remained at the Foundling Asylum, where she died,
until Friday, when the remains were brought to Cincin-
nati and laid in state at the Good Samaritan Hospital.
The following morning the last services were held in the
Cathedral. The scene was a memorable one. A vast
multitude gathered near the church; only a very small
proportion was able to gain admittance to the sacred
edifice. As the cortege approached heads were bowed
in grief and silent reverence. Not a wreath or flower
relieved the simple severity of the pall, but a dozen men
stood about the casket, its guard of honor. These were
the men who on the field of battle, in the rain of bullet
and sliell, had watched the coming of that foim, that now
lay cold within the narrow house, with anxiety born of
despair. The battle flags now furled and draped in their
hands had been the beacon that had led her where pain
and fever raged, and it was meet that the Stars and
Stripes should follow to her tomb.

In the casket's wake came the guard of honor and
one hundred Sisters of Charity in their sombre habits.
The forward pews had been reserved for the Sisters and
orphans of the asylum, which the dead Sister had founded.
The white head-dresses of the little girls and white col-
lars of the boys were in marked contrast to the black garb
of the Sisters, silhoutted against the brilliant background.
Archbishop Elder, Bishop Byrne, of Nashville, a large
number of priests and fifty seminarians were present.

Archbishop Elder celebrated the mass, assisted by
the Rev. J. C. Albrinck. Rev. John H. Schoenelt was the
deacon of the mass, and Rev. Father Van Briss sub-
deacon. The deacons of honor were the Very Rev. John

82 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Murray and the Very Kev. John M. Maekay, Rev. Henry
Moeller was master of ceremonies.

Bishop Byrne, of Nashville, who preached the sermon,
said among other things: "We are come together to pay
the last tribute to one who is worthy of such a tribute —
to one whose figure was a familiar one on the streets of
Cincinnati, and whom you all knew and loved. Her
fame extended beyond the limits of the State and was
not circumscribed by the limits of a continent, and the
Church, always in sympathy with such nobility of char-
acter, has draped her altars in black. Though she is
dead she lives. Every prophecy of the word conspires
to express this, that she has gone to live forever. That
prophecy bids us to exult for a soul gone to Christ. These
are the words of the epistles, these are the sentiments
expressed by the Church. * * * Christ was her in-
spiration, and for this reason she trod the battlefield and
entered hospitals pregnant with pestilence. Her
presence was more to those brave sons of America than
that of an angel. Yet she was only a type of many.
For the same reason she loved the waifs and castaways, the
destitute, afflicted and lowly. I repeat that she was but
the type of many, and every Sister of Charity does these
acts. One thing more precious than all she has left us
and that is her glorious example. To her own Sisters, to
her own community, not to Catholics alone, her example
is precious. Her fidelity and devotion should be an in-
spiration."

The words of the prelate impressed his listeners, as
was evidenced by their tears, and when his Grace, the
Archbishop, arose there was emotion in his voice as he
said:

SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH. 83

"You have heard it said what lessons may be drawn
from this sad occasion. Th» pleasures and pains of this
world pass! away, and only the things done for G-od last
always. Only what is done for the world to come lays
by as an eternal treasure. We owe a debt of gratitude to
her whose life was so quiet and yet so glorious. We owe
her a debt of gratitude for the example she has set us for
our encouragement."

Thereupon the blessing followed, and the mourners
filed from the church, preceded by the casket, which
after being placed in the hearse, began its last journey
to the mother house at Delhi, followed by eight carriages
containing the Sisters and the clergy. Arrived there the
soulless tenement was placed in the vault of the ceme-
tery, to find private burial without further ceremony at
the hands of the good Sisters, her friends and companions.

The following beautiful description of the funeral
and interment of Sister Anthony is from the Cincinnati
Tribune of December 12, 1897:

"Friday afternoon the remains of Sister Anthony
were brought to the Good Samaritan Hospital, where
they lay in state in the chapel, \isited by hundreds of
sorrowing friends. A great number of girls employed
in factories near the hospital visited the chapel after
working hours to pay a last tribute of respect to her who
was at all times their friend and confidant in times of
trouble.

It was at the earnest request of the Sisters at the

hospital that the remains of Sister Anthony were Ijrought

in. They wanted to have her with them once more

for the last time, amid the scenes of her noblest work,

5

84 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

to pray beside her bier and bid a last farewell to the
spirit which they all emulate.

Visitors thronged the cha]>el far into the night and
there was little rest for the Sisters, who were up at
dawn and in the chapel again, where the Rev. Father
Finn, of the Society of Jesus, sang requiem mass, assisted
by the St. Xavier's choir, under the direction of Mr. Boex,

When the time came for the departure to the Cathe-
dral a number of the friends joined in singing "Lead,
Kindly Light" and "Sweet Spirit Hear My Prayer" T.'hile
the body was borne from the chapel.

These two beautiful hymns were the favorites of Sis-
ter Anthony, and she would have wished that they be
sung at her funeral.

In the Cathedral, the temple of the religion she loved
and worked and prayed for, two veterans of the Grand
Army of the Republic, bearing aloft the flags of their
country draped in sombre black, stood sentinel at her
bier.

There was the procession of priests and companies
of Sisters of Charity instead of the rank and file of
soldiery; there were embroidered robes and black habits
in place of the blue and gray; there were candles instead
of camp fires; there was the chime of bells and the
chanting of the choir instead of the call of trumpets and
beat of drums; there was the organ pealing instead of
the musketry roll; there was the fragrance of incense
instead of the smoke of the battlefield; there was the
counting of beads instead of the binding of wounds;
there was the bier and the sable pall instead of the hos-
pital stretcher; there were the whispered prayers of

SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH. 85

2000 people on bended knees for the repose of the soul
of Sister Anthony.

The morning light streamed dimly and softly through
the stained glass windows, and electric lights took the
place of the stars in heaven's blue canopy, but it was the
bivouac of the dead.

The ministering angel to soldiers, the comfort of
widows and orphans, the friend of the poor, the sick
and the unfortunate was dead, and about her, come to
do her honor, were soldiers, orphans and widows; those
who had been poor and sick and unfortunate, her greatest
care in life.

The altars of the church were draped in black, and
with high requiem mass and eulogies the priests of the
church paid tribute to a noble member of their sisterhood.

Far up above the Ohio, on a beautiful plateau, with
a view for miles in every direction, is the mother house
of the Sisters of Charity, founded away back in the
thirties by pioneers of the order from Emmittsburg, Md.

Here is the grave of Sister Anthony. She lies beside
Mother Regina Mattingly and Mother Josephine Harvey,
who were with her when she first came West, and with
her helped to found the mother house. To-day they sleep
together in the little graveyard and near the home they
made for their sisterhood.

Their graves are in a little grove of birches and ever-
greens and surrounded by the graves of their Sisters
who have gone before.

Their graves are marked by simple stone crosses,
bearing their names in the world and in religion.

When the funeral train reached the house the Sis-
ters, headed by their chaplain, received the body and

86 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

bore it to the chapel, where it lay in state for two hours.
The Sisters wanted their dear friend for that long at
least, for the mother house she always considered her
iiome, and they regarded her as a mother and loved her
as such, for to all she was ever the same sweet, lovely
and loving friend,

The services for the dead were read by the Rt,
Rev. Bishop Byrne, after which the body was borne to
the grave.

With slow and solemn tread the long file of black-
robed Sisters marched before, A drizzling rain had be-
gun to fall, and in the murky atmosphere the scene took
on a solemnity and grandeur impossible to picture. The
Sisters chanting prayers and the priests following in their
purple robes, and their heavy bass voices poining j. had
a beautiful effect.

As the procession neared the burying ground the
'Miserere' was chanted by all,"

There were very few at the graveside besides those
connected with the church. Thus ended the earthly
career of this "Angel of the Battlefield,"

CHAPTER VIII.

PORTSMOUTH AND NORFOLK.

The contest between the Monitor and the Merrimac, and general operations
of the war during the seven days' battle near Richmond. The taking
of the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth by the Union forces. Sisters
narrowly escape drowning while crossing the river in a row boat. One
instance where hatred was turned to love.

In the East the Union cause had not been so success-
ful. When the Union forces at the beginning of the war
abandoned Norfolk, with its nav}^ yard, they blew up all

the Government vessels to pre-
vent them from falling into the
hands of the Confederates. One
frigate, which had been sunk,
was raised by the Confederates
and transformed into an iron-
clad ram, making her one of
the most formidable vessels
then afloat, though now she
would be considered ridiculous. This vessel, rechristened
the Merrimac, aided by three gun boats, destroyed the
United States frigate Cumberland, forced the surrender of
the Congress and scattered the remainder of the Union
fleet in Hampton Roads. That night, amid the consterna-

(87)

88 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

tion which prevailed, the new Union gun boat, called the
Monitor, designed by John Ericsson, arrived in Hampton
Roads and prepared to resist the Merrimac the next day.
The Monitor was a turreted ironclad. The following
morning, after a severe battle, the Monitor drove the
Merrimac back to Gosport Navy Yard, where she was
later blown up. This was one of the turning points of
the war.

In the meantime General McClellan made his advance
on Richmond, going by sea to Yorktown and advancing
thence on Richmond. For seven days there was tremen-
dous fighting near Richmond, the Confederates usually get-
ting the best of it. Finally McClellan retreated to Harri-
son's Landing to make a new effort. He was greatly dis-
appointed in not getting reinforcements, and finally was
ordered back with his army to Washington.

During the contest known as the "seven days' bat-
tles'' the fighting commenced about 2 o'clock A. M., and
continued until 10 P. M. each day. The bombs were burst-
ing and reddening the heavens, while General McClellan's
Reserve Corps ranged about three hundred yards from
the door of the Sisters' house. While the battle lasted the
Sisters in the city hospitals were shaken by the cannonad-
ing and the heavy rolling of the ambulances in the streets
as they brought in the wounded and dying men. The sol-
diers informed the Sisters that they had received orders
from their general "to capture Sisters of Charity, if they
could," as the hospitals were in great need of them.

One night the doctors called on the Sisters to see a
man whose limb must be amputated, but who would not
consent to take the lulling dose without having the Sis-
ters of Charity say he could do so. The Sisters sj^id it was

PORTSMOUTH AND NORFOLK. 89

dark and the crowd was too great to think of going. The
doctors left, but soon returned, declaring that the man's
life depended on their coming. Two Sisters then, escorted
bj the doctors, went to see the patient, who said to them :
"Sisters, they wish me to take a dose that will deprive me
of my senses, and I wish to make my confession first, and
a priest is not here." They put his fears at rest, and he
went through the operation successfully. Sometimes the
poor men were brought to them from encampments where
rations were very scarce or from hospitals from which
the able-bodied men had retreated and left perhaps thou-
sands of wounded prisoners of war, who, in their distress,
had fed on mule flesh and rats. These poor men, on arriv-
ing at the hospitals, looked more dead than alive,

Norfolk, being left undefended about this time, was
soon occupied by General Wool, who swooped down upon
it with a force from Fortress Monroe. The bombardment
of the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk gave notice to the
Sisters of Charity that their services would soon be needed
in that locality. They had a hospital, an asylum and a
day school in Norfolk, The tolling of the bells on that May
morning first announced the destruction of the city. Soon
Portsmouth was in flames. Large magazines and powder
exploding shook the two cities in a terrible manner. The
hospital where the Sisters were in charge was crowded
with the sick and wounded. They were cared for as well
as possible with the limited means at hand. In a short
time, however, Norfolk was evacuated, and both that city
and Portsmouth taken by the Union troops. All of the
Southern soldiers that could leave before the coming of
the Northerners left, and the hospital was comparatively
empty. The Union soldiers crowded into the city and

90 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

great confusion ensued. The Marine Hospital in Ports-
mouth was prepared for the sick and wounded, and the
Union authorities aslied the Sisters to wait upon their
men. These troops were in a deplorable condition. There
was no time to be lost and the Sisters lost none. They
were constantly administering by turns to soul and body.
Indeed, as far as possible, the self-sacrificing Sisters sub-
tracted from their own food and rest in order that the suf-
fering men might have more of both.

In a few days several more Sisters came to aid those
who were in charge. The newcomers met with many vex-
atious trials on the way. First they were denied trans-
portation, and next barely escaped being lost in crossing
a river in a small rowboat, the frail craft, through the care-
lessness of some one in charge, being heavily overloaded.
They eventually reached their destination, however, and
were enabled to effect much good among the men. Many
affecting scenes took place in the wards. The Sistersi were
applying cold applications to the fevered men. One sol-
dier, bursting out in tears, exclaimed:

"Oh, if my poor mother could only see you taking care
of me she would take you to her heart."

A man of about 23 years saw a Sister in the distance
and raised his voice and cried :

"Sister, come over to my bed for awhile."

He was in a dying state, and the Sister knelt by his
bedside making suitable preparations for him in a low
voice. He repeated the prayers she recited in a very loud
tone. The Sister said :

"I will go away if you pray so loud."

"Ah, Sister," he said, "I want God to know that I am
in earnest."

POKTSMOUTH AND NORFOLK. 91

The Sister showed him her crucifix, saying : "Do you
know what this means?"

He took it and kissed it, reverently bowing his head.
While another man was receiving instructions he sudden-
ly cried out at the top of his voice: "Come over and hear
what Sister is telling me." She looked up and saw a wall
of human beings surrounding her, attracted by the loud
prayers of the poor man. In this crowd and on his knees
was one of the doctors, who, being on his rounds among
the patients and seeing the Sister on her knees, involun-
tarily knelt, and remained so until the Sister arose. The
patient soon after died a most edifying death, receiving
the last rites of the Church.

Another poor fellow seemed to have a deep-seated
prejudice against the Sisters. He constantly refused to
take his medicine, and would even go so far as to strike
at the Sisters when they offered it to him. After keeping
this up for some time and finding the Sisters undisturbed
and gentle as ever, he said, "What are you?"

The Sister replied: "I am a Sister of Charity."

"Where is your husband?"

"1 have none," replied the Sister, "and I am glad I
have not."

"Why are you glad?" he asked, getting very angry.

"Because," she replied, "if I had I would have been
employed in his affairs, consequently could not be here
waiting on you."

As if by magic he said in a subdued tone : "That will
do," and turned his face from her. The Sister left him,
but presently returned and offered him his medicine,
which he took without a murmur. When he recovered
from his long illness he became one of the warmest
friends of the Sisters.

92 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

As the war continued the Government also made use
of the Sisters' Hospital of St. Francis de Sales. Here all
things were under the direct charge of the Sisters, the
Government, in this particular instance, paying them a
stated sum for their services. During the time their house
was thus occupied about twenty-five hundred wounded
soldiers were admitted, of whom but one hundred died.

The Sisters had been at Portsmouth about six months
when the hospital was closed. Several of the Sisters were
sent to other points, while the remainder started for Em-
mittsburg. The cars took them to Manassas, in the midst
of an extensive encampment, where they were told they
could not pass the Potomac, as the enemy was firing on
all who appeared.

The army chaplain celebrated Mass at this point, an
old trunk in a little hut serving as an altar. The Sisters
were obliged to go to Richmond, and it was two weeks
before a flag of truce could take them into Maryland. They
met the Judge Advocate of the army on the boat and he
showed them every attention, saying: "Your society has
done the country great service, and the authorities in
Washington hold your community in great esteem."

CHAPTER IX.

LABORS IN FREDERICK CITY.

The Sisters quartered in a stone barracks that had been occupied by General
Washington during the Revolutionary war. Patients see no necessity
for "tincture of iron" from the doctors. Soldiers without food for thir-
teen days. Young scholastics from the Jesuit Novitiate in the capacity
of nurses. Not enemies " except upon the battlefield."

On the 4t]i of June, 1862, a telegram was received at
the Central House, in Emmittsburg, asking that ten Sis-
ters be detailed for hospital service in Frederick City, Md.
The request came from the medical
authorities in charge of the hospi-
tal, and it explained the immediate
and imperative need of the Sis-
ters. There were only three Sis-
ters at liberty in the main house
at the time, but the zeal of the
Superiors managed to secure seven
others from the various Catholic
schools and academies in the city of Baltimore.

The ten nurses started upon their journey without
any unnecessary delay and soon reached Frederick City.
When they arrived at the hospital they were received bj
an orderly, who showed them to their room. It was in an

(93)

94 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

old stone barracks, that had been occupied by General
George Washington during the Reyolutionary War. The
rcom contained ten beds, so closely jammed together that
there was scarcely space to walk about them. An old rick-
ety table and two or three dilapidated chairs comprised
the only furniture of the room. The chief surgeon called
to welcome the Sisters and expressed the hope that they
would be comfortable in their military quarters. He in-
formed them that they were to call upon the steward for
whatever they needed. The medicine was plentiful, but
badly administered by the nurses, who did not attach
much importance to the time or manner of giving it.

The Sisters' food consisted of the soldiers' ration. It
was served to them on broken dishes, with old knives and
forks, red with rust. The patients often amused their
nurses by saying:

"There is no necessity for the doctors to order us the
tincture of iron three times a day ; don't you think we get
nearly enough of it off our table service?"

On the Fourth of July an addition to the sick from the
field of battle arrived at the hospital. The newcomers
numbered about four hundred, and the majority were
suffering from typhoid fever and dysentery. They came
unexpectedly and no preparations had been made to re-
ceive them, so that many of the men had to lie in the open
yard of the hospital for nearly a whole day exposed to the
scorching heat of the sun. The Sisters were thus doomed to
witness a most distressing scene without having it in their
power to alleviate the suffering. Finally the Sister ser-
vant, who could no longer behold such a spectacle, man-
aged to procure some wine, which, with the aid of water,
she multiplied prodigiously, thereby giving all a refresh-

LABORS IN FEEDERICK CITY. 95

ing drink. This drew from tlie lips of the poor sufferers
many a blessing and prayer for the Sisters of Charity.

There were continual skirmishes in the Shenandoah
Valley, from whence large numbers of wounded were fre-
quently brought to the hospital, so that in a short time it
was overcrowded and the chief surgeon was obliged to
occupy two or three public buildings in the city as hos-
pitals. At the request of the doctors eight additional Sis-
ters were sent from the Mother House at
Emmittsburg, and they were divided among the vari-
ous hospitals that were occupied as temporary wards until
accommodations could be made at the general hospital to
receive the worst cases. The sick and slightly wounded
men were transferred to Baltimore.

A young man, a Philadelphian, was brought in one
day fearfully crushed, one hand and arm mangled to a
jelly. Opening his eyes he beheld a Sister of Charity
standing near him; a look of light succeeded the heavy
expression of weary pain and he exclaimed : "Oh, I wish
I were as good as the Sisters of Charity, then I would
be ready to die." He begged for baptism. There was no
time to lose. The Sisters hastened to instruct him in
what was necessary for him to believe and then bap-
tized him, after which he calmly expired.

One of the difficulties with which the Sisters had to
contend was the improper manner in which the food was
prepared. One day the chief surgeon asked for a Sister
to superintend the kitchen, and one who was qualified for
the charge was sent for that purpose. Her silence and
gentleness soon quelled the turbulent spirits of the sol-
diers employed in her office, so that in a short time they
became as docile as children. On the first day an improve-
ment was noticed in the hospital. The steward said that

96 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

for tlie short time the Sisters had been there their pres-
ence in the barracks had made a wonderful change. He
said that the men were more respectful and were seldom
heard to swear or use profane language. A Sister was
unexpectedly accosted one day by a convalescent patient,
whom, she often noticed, viewed her with a surly counte-
nance and would reluctantly take from her whatever she
offered him. He said:

"Sister, you must have noticed how ugly I have acted
towards you and how unwillingly I have taken anything
from you, but I could not help it, as my feelings were so
embittered against you that your presence always made
me worse. I have watched you closely at all times since
you came to the barracks, but when you came in at mid-
night last night to see the patient who lay dangerously ill
I could not but notice your self-sacrificing devotion. It
was then that my feelings became changed towards you.
I reflected upon the motives which seemed to actuate the
Sisters of Charity and I could not help admiring them. I
thank you, Sister, for all the kindness you have shown me.
I am happy to say that the Sisters of Charity have left
impressions on my mind that will not be easily effaced."

On the 19th of July, 1862, the feast of St. Vincent de
Paul, the Sisters received quite a treat in the shape of an
excellent dinner, sent by the director of the Jesuit Noviti-
ate and the Superioress of the Visitation Convent, in
Washington. Several ladies also visited them and sent
refreshments for the day.

There were many Germans in the barracks, and the
band of Sisters who were there only spoke the English
language. The Superior, however, sent a German Sister
who could speak to these men and interpret for the other

LAB0R8 IN FREDERICK CITY. 97

Sisters. At their request one of the clergymen from the
Novitiate, who spoke the German language, heard the con-
fessions of the German Catholics.

On the evening of September 5, 1862, the Sisters were
suddenly alarmed by an unusual beating of the drums.
They had all retired to bed except the Sister servant, who
called to them to rise quicldy and go to the barracks; that
the Confederate army was in Maryland and would reach
the camp in the morning. They were informed that all
the patients who were able to walk, including the male at-
tendants and men employed about the hospital, would
have to leave the place in about an hour, and that all the
United States army stores in the city must be consigned
to the flames. Imagine their feelings at such news. The
hour passed like a flash. The soldiers all disappeared ex-
cept a few of the badly wounded, who could not be re
moved. The signal was given and in a few moments the
entire city was enveloped in smoke and flames. The con-
flagration was so great that it illuminated all the sur-
rounding towns. The Sisters spent the remaining part
of the night with the sick who were left alone in the
wards. The doctors who remained at their posts carried
their instruments and other articles to the Sister
servant for safe-keeping, knowing that whatever the Sis-
ters had in their possession was secure.

The next day dawned bright and beautiful, but what
a scene of desolation and ruin was presented to the view !
There was no one on the hospital grounds but the steward
and doctors, about four in number, and the Sisters, who
were going to and from the barracks attending the help-
less soldiers. It was then that these poor, helpless men
exclaimed in astonishment and gratitude:

98 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

"Oh, Sisters, did you stay to care care of us? We
thought you also would have gone, and then what would
have become of us?"

About 9 o'clock in the morning the Confederates were
discovered on the top of a hill advancing rapidly towards
the hospital. Suddenly the advance guards appeared in
front of the Sisters' windows, which were under the doc-
tor's office. One of the Confederates demanded without
delay the surrender of the place to the Confederate army,
in command of Generals Jackson and Lee. The officer of
the day replied, "I surrender." The guards rode off and in
about fifteen minutes afterwards the whole Confederate
army entered the hospital grounds. It was then that the
Sisters witnessed a mass of human misery — young and old
men, with boys who seemed like mere children, emaciated
with hunger and covered with tattered rags that gave
them more the appearance of dead men than of living ones.
After these skeleton-like forms had been placed in their
respective barracks and tents the sick wera brought in,
numbering over 400. The majority of these were, however,
half-dead from want of food and drink. They informed
the Sisters that they had been without anything to eat for
thirteen days, with the exception of some green corn,
which they were allowed to pluck on their march into
Maryland. The Sisters were delighted to find a field in
which to exercise their charity and zeal on behalf of the
suffering men. But, alas! a new trial awaited them. The
United States surgeon called upon the Sister servant and
told her that the Sisters could not at that time give any
assistance to the Confederates, as they, the Sisters, were
employed by the Union Government to take care of their
sick and wounded, but he added that the Union army was

LABOES IN FREDERICK CITY. 99

daily expected, and as soon as it would reacli the city the
Confederate sick would receive the same care and atten-
tion as the Union soldiers.

The citizens were now at liberty to do as they pleased.
They flocked in crowds to the hospital, distributing food
and clothing at their own discretion. This proved fatal
in many cases, as the diet furnished the sick men was con-
trary to what their condition required. The young scholas-
tics of the Jesuit Novitiate near-by volunteered to nurse
the sick soldiers, and their services were accepted by the
United States surgeon, who arranged accommodations for
them at the barracks. The Sisters were also allowed to
give the scholastics meals in their refectory. It was truly
edifying to see the zeal of those school boys. Father
Sourin, the confessor of the Sisters, was likewise indefati-
gable in his labors. He deeply regretted the restrictions
the Sisters were under, at the same time admiring the
wonderful ways of Grod in permitting the young scholas-
tics to gain admittance into the hospital, to fill the mis-
sion of charity of which the Sisters were so unexpectedly
deprived.

On the fifth day of the invasion the Sister servant ob-
tained a passport from General Lee for two Sisters to Em-
mittsburg. They were thus enabled to apprise the Su-
periors of their situation. These same Sisters returned to
Frederick on September 12, accompanied by the Sister as-
sistant from Emmittsburg. On re-entering the city their
astonishment was great when they found that the whole
Southern army had disappeared. When they reached the
barracks the other Sisters informed them that the Con-
federates had left the city the previous night, leaving only
their sick who were unable to be removed.

Frederick City was again in possession of the Union

6

100 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

forces and the good nurses were now at liberty to exercise
their duties in behalf of the sick Confederates who were
prisoners at the hospital. The doctors made no distinction
between them and the Union soldiers. They lay side by
side, so that the Sisters had it in their power to give them
equal attention. It was truly edifying to see the patience
and harmony that prevailed among them. They would
say: "Sisters, we are not enemies except on the battle-
field."

General McClellan was at this time in command of
the Union army. On one occasion he visited the barracks
and was delighted with the order that reigned throughout.
Before leaving he expressed a desire to have fifty addition-
al Sisters sent to nurse the sick and wounded, but the
scarcity of Sisters made it impossible to comply with his
request.

A reinforcement of Sisters was now required to go to
the various places occupied by the wounded. The Su-
periors could only send a few on account of the great de-
mand for them throughout the different parts of the State.
In Frederick City the Sisters had to divide their services
between the barracks and the tents, and even then it was
impossible to do justice to all. They were thus occupied
for nearly six weeks without intermission except a few
hours, which they would occasionally take for repose, and
even that was frequently interrupted. They thought lit-
tle of fatigue or bodily privation, being happy in the be-
lief that they were not better served than the sick and
wounded.

During the month of September the Sisters were re-
called by their Superiors to the Central House at Emmitts-
burg, and this for the time being ended their labors at
Frederick City.

CHAPTER X.

WHITE HOUSE.

Sixty Sisters depart from Baltimore for the station in Virginia. Wounded
and dying men upon transport boats. Nurses who shared every horror
with their patients. Two Sisters who were martyrs to duty and hu-
manity. The worn-out Sister of Charity buried with military honors
upon the banks of the Potomac. Death of a deserter.

The many appeals for Sisters to repair to the war-
stricken sections of the country, both North and South,
had widely separated the members of the Emmittsburg

community. The venerable Moth-
er Ann Simeon remained in ex-
ecutive charge at home. Father
B Burlando visited as well as he
could the various military hospi-
tals where the Sisters were sta-
tioned. His care would not extend
beyond the line of hostilities, but,
fortunately, the Sister assistant
had been sent to superintend the missions in the South
before the blockade.

On July 14, 1862, the surgeon general at Washington
wrote for one hundred Sisters to be sent to a station
called White House, in Virginia, then in possession of
the Northern forces. So many were already in service

(101)

102 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

that it was impossible to comply fully with this request.
Sixty Sisters, however, started from Baltimore for that
place. As all traveling was attended with much difficulty,
the Sisters experienced many hardships. The authorities
intended to make a hospital encampment in the vicinity of
White House, as many thousands of wounded had been
brought there from the recent battles. No preparations
had been made for accommodating the Sisters, al-
though the officers and doctors were rejoiced at their com-
ing. General George B. McClellan, then chief in com-
mand, was some miles distant at the time, but sent orders
that every possible care and attention should be offered
to the Sisters. Father Burlando accompanied the Sisters
to this place, and after receiving assurances that proper
arrangements had been made for them returned home.
They had only passed a few days here when suddenly all
hands were ordered to leave with the greatest haste — the
enemy was only two miles distant. Then began confu-
sion and additional suffering.

The wounded and dying men were hurriedly placed
upon transport boats. These vessels were so overcrowded
that they seemed more like sinking than sailing. The Sis-
ters were detailed to accompany the wounded to the sev-
eral cities where they were destined, the work of transpor-
tation continuing for several weeks. The Sisters shared
with their patients every horror but their bodily pains.
They were in the under cabin, the ceiling of which was
low and the apartment lighted by hanging lamps and can-
dles. The men lay on beds on the floor, with scarcely
enough space to walk between them. The Sister in charge
of this lower ward was so persevering in her zealous at-
tention that even the doctor declared he did not know how

WHITE HOUSE. 103

human nature could endure such duties. A few months
later this Sister died from the effcts of overwork — a mar-
tyr to duty. The remaining Sisters not engaged with the
sick returned to Baltimore, but in a few days received a
summons to go to Point Lookout, situated at the southern
extremity of Maryland, bounded on one side by the Chesa-
peake Bay and on the other by the Potomac River.

On the 14th of July, 1862, Father Burlando, with twen-
ty-five Sisters, left Baltimore, and in twenty-four hours
reached the hospital encampment of Point Lookout. The
eisters were soon destined to have another martyr in their
band. They were only at Point Lookout two weeks when
one of the zealous band, who had contracted typhoid fe-
ver on the transport boat, died from that disease.- She
gave up her whole being as generously as she had offered
her zealous labors. Father Burlando had returned to Bal-
timore, but a good priest, who came occasionally to the
encampment, heard her confession, and she received com-
munion a day or two previous to her death. The priest
being stationed twelve miles distant could not reach the
encampment in time to administer the last sacraments,
but arrived in time to perform the burial service. The kind
doctors and officers made every effort to suitably honor the
departed Sister. The men said they deemed it a great
privilege to act as the pall-bearers. All of the soldiers who
had died had been buried with only a sheet wrapped
around them, but for the Sister a white pine coffin was
procured. The authorities walked in procession, the drum
corps playing a dead march. There on the banks of the
Potomac rested the worn-out Sister of Charity. What a
subject for the pen of the poet or the brush of the painter!

Several cottages and tents, as well as wooden wards

104 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

for the accommodation of thousands of sick and wounded,
made this narrow strait a thickly-inhabited place. Many
of the men were in a deplorable state from the effects of
their wounds and painful removals from distant battle-
grounds. The priest often came on Friday and remained
until Monday, constantly engaged among the soldiers, in-
structing, baptizing and hearing confessions. On Sunday
mornings he said the first Mass at the encampment and
the second in the little chapel. The first Mass was said in
a tent surrounded by soldiers. The captain of the guards
marched his company to Mass on that day, and at the ele-
vation a drum was sounded and all adored profoundly.

Later on the officers gave the Sisters more cottages,
and by removing the patients they had a good-sized chapel.
With but few exceptions the doctors and officers were very
kind to the Sisters. Removals by death and the arrival of
more wounded men sometimes caused the wards to be
emptied and refilled again the same day. As soon as a
boat would land a horn was blown to let the Sisters loiow
that they must go to their wards. Then they would ap-
point a place for each sufferer, giving the best accommo-
dations to those who were enduring the greatest anguish
Many among the new arrivals were Confederate prisoners.

About this time orders came from Washington that
no women nurses were to remain at the Point. After the
Sisters had begun their work a band of young ladies ar-
rived for the purpose of nursing the sick, and they were
surprised to find the Sisters there before them. When the
fSisters heard the order from Washington concerning "wo-
men nurses," they made preparations for leaving, but the
chief physician said to them:

WHITE HOUSE. 105

"Remain here, Sisters, until I "hear from Washington,
for we cannot dispense with yonr services at this time."

The physician telegraphed to the national capital and
received this reply:

"The Sisters of Charity are not included in our orders.
They may serve all alike at the Point, prisoners and oth-
ers, but all other ladies are to leave the place."

About 5 o'clock on the morning of the 6th of August,
1864, the Sisters were at meditation in their chapel, when
they were startled by a noise like thunder, and, looking
out, saw the air darkened with whirling sand, lumber, bed-
steads, stovepipes and even the roofs of houses. A rag-
ing tornado and waterspout were tearing and destroying
all in their way, taking in everything from the river to
the bay. The little chapel shook from roof to foundation.
Doors and windows were blown down. Sick and wounded
men were blown out on the ground. Wards and cottage**
were carried several feet from their base. Two Sisters
who had not yet arisen, terrified at finding their lodgings
falling to pieces, ran out and in their efforts to reach the
chapel were struck down by the flying doors and as often
raised from the earth by the violent wind.

The Sisters were too stunned with surprise to know
what to do, though truly nothing could be done, for they
would only have left one part of the chapel for another
when the last part would be blown away. In one of these
intermissions a Sister seized hold of the tabernacle, fear-
ing that its next place would be in the bay, but the altar
was the only spot in the chapel that the angry elements
seemed to respect. Lumber and iron bedsteads were car-
ried over the tope of the cottages. The wards were nearly
all filled with patients, and several of these buildings were

106 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

leveled to the ground. Tlie men who were able to move
about were running in all directions for safety, many of
them only half dressed. One house was seen sailing
through the air, and the bodies in it at the time of the
storm were not discovered until some days afterward. The
storm lasted about ten or fifteen minutes, but in this time
heavy mattresses were carried through the air like so
many feathers. It was some time before all could be re-
paired. The poor patients had to be cared for in some way
or other, and it was not an unusual sight to see the Sis-
ters standing by the stove with their saucepans of broth in
one hand and umbrellas in the other, only too happy thus
to relieve the poor sufferers.

The Sisters going to the Provost one day were in-
formed that a deserter was to be shot the next morning,
and they were requested to see him. They visited the
prison for the purpose of consoling the condemned
but the man showed noi desire to see them, and they sor-
rowfully returned home. Later the prisoner regretted not
having seen the Sisters, and asked to have them sent for.
The kind Provost sent an orderly, telling the Sisters of
the poor man's desire. It was now very dark, and some
of the authorities advised the Sisters not to go until the
next morning. The orderly carried this message to his
superior but was sent back again with a note from the Pro-
vost, saying :

"I will call for you on horseback and will be your pilot
with the ambulance. I will guide the driver safely through
the woods and will also conduct you home safely. I think
circumstances require your attendance on the prisoner."

This was enough for the Sisters, and they were soon
at the prison, but found a minister of the prisoner's per-

WHITE HOUSE. 107

suasion with him. After he had finished his interview the
Sisters were taken to the man, who apologized for not
seeing them sooner. One of the Sisters aslied him if he
had been baptized. He said, "No, never." Then she in-
formed him of its necessity, and he regretted, with much
fervor, that he had not known this sooner. The Sisters
remained with him some hours, giving him such instruc-
tions as his condition required. After baptizing him he
expressed his desire to see a priest. The Provost, looliing
at his watch, replied that he could not be there in time.
It. was now late and the execution must take, place early
in the morning. The young man resigned himself fully
to his fate, saying:

"T deserve death, and freely pardon anyone who will
take part in it. I know I must die by the hand of one of
my company, but whoever it may be I forgive him."

Then he returned to his devotions with such a lively
faith that the Sisters had no fear for his salvation. They
bade him adieu and promised to assemble before the altar
in his behalf when the hour of his trial drew near and to
remain in prayer until all would be over with him. The
kind Provost made all arrangements for the Sisters' re-
turn home, and said, when leaving the prison r

"May I have such help at my death and die with such
a good disposition."

At the dreaded hour in the morning the Sisters knelt
before their humble altar, most fervently imploring the
Kedeemer to receive the soul of the poor deserter. They
continued very long after the sound of the fatal fire had
told them that his destiny had been decided. The soldiers
remarked afterwards that every one on the Point was pres-

108 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

ent at the execution with the exception of the Sisters, who
had retired to pray for the doomed man.

Peace being declared, preparations were made for a
general removal. The doctors desired the Sisters to re-
main until all the sick and wounded had gone. After this
they, too, left the Point on the 1st of August, 1865, going
to their home at Emmittsburg.

The Sisters carried away with them a sense of duty
well done. The sacrifices they made while at Point
Lookout were never fully made known, not even to their
superiors. Several Sisters fell victims to death and dis-
ease. One of the most conspicuous of these was Sister
Consolata Conlan, who in the twentieth year of her age
yielded up her spotless life while in attendance upon
the sick and wounded soldiers.

CHAPTER XL

MANASSAS AND ANTIETAA\.

Five Sisters charged with the care of five hundred patients. Bodies of the
dead consumed by the flames. The military hospitals at Gordonsville
and Lynchburg. Boonsboro and Sharpsburg selected for hospital pur-
poses for the men wounded at Antietam. General McClellan's kindness
to the Sisters. A man who had met Sisters during the Crimean war.
The brave flag bearer.

There was scarcely a time from tJie opening of the
■war until its close that some of the Sisters of Charity were
not located at Richmond. This was a sort of unofficial

Southern headquarters for
them, whence they were sent
for duty on the various South-
em battlefields. The section of
country in which the Mother
House was located was in pos-
session of the Union army most
of the time. But the house
was looked upon as sacred prop-
erty by the generals of both
armies and was never molested by the soldiers.

Late in August, 1862, Dr. Williams, the medical direc-
tor of the army of the Potomac, made a hasty summons
for a detachment of Sisters to wait upon the sick and

(109)

110 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

wounded at Manassas, where a severe battle had just tak-
en place. Five of the Sisters immediately left Richmond
for the scene of the conflict

When they arrived at Manassas they found five hun-
dred patients^ including the men of both armies, awaiting
them. The mortality was very great, as the wounded men
had been very much neglected. The wards of the tem-
porary hospital were in a most deplorable condition and
strongly resisted all efforts of the broom, to which they
had long been strangers. It was finally discovered that
the aid of a shovel was necessary. One small room was
set aside as a dormitory for the Sisters. They were also
provided with a chaplain and Mass was said every day in
one corner of the little room. Fresh difiSculties and an-
noyances presented themselves later in the season.
The kitchen, to which what was called the re-
fectory was attached, was a quarter of a mile
from the Sisters' room, and often it was found more
prudent to be satisfied with two meals than to trudge
through the snow and sleet for the third. These meals at
the best were not very inviting, for the culinaiy depart-
ment was under the care of negroes who had a decided
aversion to cleanliness. On an average ten of the i>atients
died every day. Most of these poor unfortunates were at-
tended by either Father Smoulders, Father Tuling or the
Sisters.

After spending a long while at Manassas the Sisters
received orders from General Johnston to pack up quietly
and prepare to leave on six hours' notice, as it had been
found necessary to retreat from that quarter. They had
scarcely left their posts when the whole camp was one
mass of flames and the bodies of those who died that day
were consumed.

MANASSAS AND ANTIETAM. Ill

The next field of labor for the Sisters was the military
hospital at Gordonsville. There were but three Sisters,
and they had two hundred patients under their charge.
The sick were very poorly provided for, although the mor-
tality was not asi great as at Manassas. The Sisters had
a small room, which served for all purposes. One week
they lay on the floor without beds, their habits and a shawl
loaned by the doctor serving for covering. The trunk of a
tree was their table and the rusty tin cups and plates,
which were used in turn by doctors. Sisters and negroes,
were very far from exciting a relish for what they con-
tained. The approach of the Federal troops compelled the
Sisters to leave Gordonsville on Easter Sunday.

They retreated in good order toward Danville. Hav-
ing been obliged to stop at Richmond some time they
did not enter on this new field of labor until
much later in the year. At Danville they found four
hundred sick, all of whom were much better pro-
vided for than at Manassas or Gordonsville. The Sis-
ters had a nice little house, which would have been a kind
of luxury had it not been the abode of innumerable rats,
of which they stood in no little dread. During the night
the Sisters^ stockings were carried off, and on awakening
in the morning the meek religious frequently found their
fingers and toes locked in the teeth of the bold visitors.

In November the medical director removed the hos-
pital to Lynchburg, as there was no means of heating the
one in Danville. The number of the Sisters had increased
to five, as the hospital was large and contained one thou-
sand patients, most of whom were in a pitiable condition.
When the Sisters arrived they found that most of the un-
fortunate patients were half -starved, owing to the misman-

112 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

agement of the institution. As a Sister passed through
the wards for the first time, accompanied by the doctor, a
man from the lower end cried out:

"Lady, lady, for God's sake give me a piece of bread !"
The doctors soon placed everything under the control
of the Sisters, and with a little economy the patients were
provided for and order began to prevail. Father L. H.
Gache, S. J. (1), a zealous and brave priest, effected much
good among the patients. During the three years that the
Sisters remained in Lynchburg he baptized one hundred
persons. The approach of the Federal troops placed the
hospital in imminent danger, and it was decided to re-
move the sick and the hospital stores to Richmond. The
surgeon general of the Confederate army begged that the
Sisters would take charge of the Stuart Hospital in that
city, which they did on the 13th of February, 1865.

Father Gache accompanied them and continued his
mission of zeal and charity. The Sisters were then ten in
number, and, as usual, found plenty to do to place the sick
in a comfortable situation. They had just accomplished

(1). Rev. Louis Hippolyte Gache, S. J., was born June 18, 1817,
in the department of Ardeche, France. His early studies were pur-
sued at the College of Bourg, St. Andeole. At the outbreak of the
Civil War he was appointed chaplain of a Louisiana regiment in
the Confederate army. Owing to losses in battle, sickness, etc., the
regiment ceased to exist in two years, and Father Gache from then to
the close of the war was attached as chaplain to military hospitals.
At the end of the conflict he returned to Grand Coteau, remaining
there a year. He was then transferred to the new province of
Maryland, now that of New York-Baltimore, becoming a professor
in Loyola College. He has occupied various posts of responsibility
since that time, and only last year (1896) celebrated his golden
jubilee or fiftieth year in the Society of Jesus, at the Church of
the Gesu, in Philadelphia.

MANASSAS AND ANTIETAM. 113

this when the city was evacuated, and on the 13th of April
they left Eichmond for the Mother House at Emmittsburg.

A terrible engagement took place near the Antietam
River, in Maryland, not far from the Potomac, on the 17th
of September, 1862. Not only were thousands on both
sides killed, but as many more were left wounded on the
battlefield, with the farmhouses and barns their only pros-
pective shelter. As the fighting had been from twelve to
fifteen miles in space, the towns of Boonsboro and Sharps-
burg were selected for hospital purposes. The general in
charge of the Maryland division requested the people to
aid the fallen prisoners, as the Government provided for
the Northern soldiers and would have cared for aU if it
had enough for that purpose.

The Superior of the Sisters of Charity, with the people
of Emmittsburg, collected a quantity of clothing, provis-
ions, remedies, delicacies and money for these poor men.
The overseer of the community drove in a carriage to the
place, with Father Smith, C. M., and two' of the Sisters.
Boonsboro is about thirty miles from Emmittsburg, and
the wagon containing the supplies reached the town by
twilight. Two officers of the Northern army saw the cor-
nettes by the aid of the lighted lamps, and, pointing to
the carriage, one said to the other :

"Ah, there come the Sisters of Charity; now the poor
men wiU be equally cared for."

The Sisters were kindly received at the house of a
worthy physician, whose only daughter had previously
been their pupil. They were in the town four hospitals.
The morning after their arrival they set out for the battle-
field, having Miss Janette, their kind hostess, as a pilot.
They passed houses and barns occupied as hospitals, fences

114 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

strewn with bloody clothing, and further on came to the
wounded of both armies. The poor men were only separ-
ated from the ground by some straw for beds, with here
and there a blanket stretched above them by sticks driven
into the earth at their head and feet to protect them from
the burning sun. The Sisters distributed their little stores
among the men, although their wretched condition seemed
to destroy all relish for food or drinks.

Bullets could be gathered from the small spaces that
separated the men. They were consoled as much as possi-
ble, but the Sisters scarcely knew where to begin or what
to do. If they stopped at once place, a messenger would
come to hastily call them elsewhere. In a wagon shed
lay a group of men, one of whom was mortally wounded.

An officer called the Sisters to him, telling them how
the mortally wounded man had become a hero as a flag-
bearer in the bloody struggle just ended. The poor fellow
seemed to gain new strength while the Sisters were near
him.

They were about to move away when the officer re-
called them, saying: "I fear the man is dying rapidly;
come to him. He has been so valiant that I wish to let
his wife know that the Sisters of Charity were with him
in his last moments."

Father Smith was summoned and hastUy prepared
the man for death. The thought of having the Sisters
near him seemed to fill the poor man with joy and gave
him the confidence and courage to die with a smile upon
his lips.

Two wounded I*rotestant ministers lay among the
wounded soldiers, and with one of these Father Smith
spoke for a long time while preparing the man for his end.

MANASSAS AND ANTIETAM. 115

The steward, who seemed delighted to see the Sisters, in-
formed them that he had met members of their order dur-
ing the Crimean War.

A Northern steward and a Southern surgeon became
involved in a personal dispute, which ended by one chal-
lenging the other to meet him in mortal combat in a re-
tired spot near the battlefield. Both withdrew towards
an old shed, at the same time talking in a loud voice,
threatening each other in angry tones. No one interfered
and the duel would have taken place had not one of the
Sisters followed them. She spoke to both of them firmly
and reproachfully, taking their pistols from them, and the
affair ended by their separating like docile children, each
retiring to his post.

Nightfall drove the Sisters to their lodgings in the
town, but they returned early in the morning. The medi-
cal director met the Sisters, saying: "You dine with
me to-day," and added : "If you will remain I shall make ar-
rangements for your accommodations." But he was or-
dered elsewhere a few hours later and the Sisters saw no
more of him.

The Sisters were requested by one of the ofiQcers to at-
tend the funeral of the brave flag-bearer. It was about
dusk and eight or ten persons followed the body to the
grave, besides Rev. Father Smith and the Sisters. Present-
ly they saw about two hundred soldiers on horseback gal-
loping towards them. A few of the horsemen approached
the group of mourners and taking off their caps and bow-
ing one of them said :

"I am General McClellan and I am happy and proud
to see the Sisters of Charity with these poor men. How
many are here?"
7

116 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

"Two," was the reply. "We came .here to bring relief
to the suffering, and we return in a day or so."

"Oh," he replied, "why can we not have more here? I
would like to see fifty Sisters ministering to the poor suf-
ferers. Whom shall I address for this purpose?"

Father Smith gave him the address of the Superior
Emmitsburg. Then he asked:

"Do you know how the brave standard-bearer is do-

ing

9"

He was informed that the tiag-bearer was just about
to be buried, whereupon he joined the procession and re-
mained until after the interment.

General McClellan at this time was in the full
flush of a vigorous msnhood, with the added prestige of a
West Point education. His command was considered
the finest body of men in either the Union or the Confed-
erate army. Just prior to the battle of Antietam Gen-
eral McClellan had ordered a review of his troops before
the President and the members of his Cabinet. It was
a magnificent sight to see 70,000 well-drilled and well-
dressed soldiers keeping step to the tune of martial music.
What a difference between then and now. The finest
blood in the nation lay spilled upon the field of Antie-
tam; the dread hand of death had broken up and demor-
alized the Army of the Potomac.

General McClellan was the idol of his men and was
affectionately styled "Little Mac." Upon his staff were
two volunteers from France, the Compte de Paris and
the Due de Chartres. They were grandsons of King Louis
Philippe, were commissioned in the Union army and
served without pay as aides-de-camp to General McClel-
lan. The Compte de Paris has Avritten what is considered

MANASSAS AND ANTIETAM. 117

to be the best and most impartial history of the civil war
extant. Both of these distinguished volunteers were with
General McClellan at the time of his conversation with the
Sisters.

About this time the work of removing the wounded
soldiers to Frederick City and Hagerstown began. Dur-
ing the time the Sisters remained on the battlefield they
went from farm to farm trying to find those who were in
most danger. The Sisters were in constant danger from
bomb shells which had not exploded and which only re-
quired a slight jar to burst. The ground was covered with
these and it was hard to distinguish them while the car-
riage wheels were rolling over straw and dry leaves. The
farms in the vicinity were laid waste. Unthreshed wheat
was used for roofing of tents or pillows for the men. A
few fences that had been spared by the cannon balls were
used for fuel. The quiet farmhouses contained none of
their former inhabitants. Stock in the shape of cattle
and fowl seemed to have disappeared from the face of the
earth. Even the dogs were either killed or had fled from
the appalling scene. It was very remarkable also that on
none of the battlefields during the war were there any
carrion birds, not even a crow, though piles of dead horses
lay here and there. Some of these animals were half burned
from the efforts made to consume them by lighting fence
rails over them, but this seemed rather to add to the foul-
ness of the atmosphere than help to purify it. Long ridges
of earth with sticks here and there told "so many of the
Northern army lie here" or "so many of the Southern army
lie there." General McClellan's army was encamped in the
neighborhood, with arms stacked, shining in the sun like
spears of silver.

118 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

A Northern soldier was rebuking a sympathizing lady
for her partiality towards the fallen Southerners and said:
"How I admire the Sisters of Charity in this matter. When
I was in Portsmouth, Va., they were called over from Nor-
folk to serve their own men, the Southerners, in their hos-
pitals and labored in untiring charity. When, a few weeks
later, our men took the place and the same hospital was
filled with the Northern soldiers, these good Sisters were
called on again, when they resumed their kind attention
the same as if there was no sectional change in the men,
"This," he continued, "was true Christian charity, and I
would not fear for any human misery when the Sisters
have control. This, young lady, is what all you young la-
dies ought to do."

The following day Father Smith celebrated two Mass-
es in the parlor of the house at which he was stopping. The
Sisters left this place on the ^th of October, havirg spent
six days among the wounded soldiers, who had nearly all
been removed at this time from the neighborhood.

GENERAL BENJAMIN BUTLER.

CHAPTER XI

NEW ORLEANS.

The capture of the commercial metropolis of the Southwest by General
Butler and Admiral Farragut. Butler's chivalrous letter to the Superior
of the Convent at Donaldsonville. His tribute to the Sisters of Charity.
Bishop Elder and the panic stricken people of Natchez. Work of the
Sisters in other localities.

On the 25th of April, 1862, a fleet under the famous
Admiral Farragut, together with a land force under Gen-
eral Benjamin F. Butler, captured the city of New Orleans.
Butler assumed charge of the
"commercial metropolis of the
Southwest," as it was then called,
while the gun boats proceeded up
the Mississippi Elver, subjugating
other cities and towns along its
banks. One of these was Donald-
sonville. In shelling this place Admiral Farragut injured
some of the property under the charge of the Sisters of
Charity. The superior entered a complaint with General
Butler and in return received the following chivalrous let-
ter:

"Headquarters Department of the Gulf, New Orleans, La.,

September 2, 1862.
"Santa Maria Clara, Superior and Sister of Charity.

"Madame : I had no information until the reception of
your note that so sad a result to the Sisters of your com-

(119)

120 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

munity had happened from the bombardment of Donald-
sonville.

"I am very, very sorry that Rear Admiral Farragut
was unaware that he was injuring your establishment by
his shells. Any injury must have been entirely accidental.
The destruction of that town became a necessity. The in-
habitants harbored a gang of cowardly guerrillas, who
committed every atrocity, amongst others that of firing
upon an unarmed boat crowded with women and children
going up the coast, returning to their homes, many of them
having been at school in New Orleans.

"It is impossible to allow such acts, and I am only sor-
ry that the righteous punishment meted out to them in
this instance, as, indeed, in all others, fell quite as heavily
upon the innocent and unoffending as upon the guilty.

"No one can appreciate more fully than myself the
holy, self-sacrificing labors of the Sisters of Charity. To
them old soldiers are daily indebted for the kindest offices.
Sisters to all mankind, they know no nation, no kindred,
neither war nor peace. Their all-pervading charity is like
the boundless love of llim who died for all,' whose ser-
vants they are and whose pure teachings their love illus-
trates.

"I repeat my grief that any harm should have befallen
your society of Sisters and will cheerfully repair it, so
far as I may, in the manner you suggest by filling the
order you have sent to the city for provisions and medi-
cines.

"Your Sisters in the city will also further testify to
you that my officers and soldiers have never failed to do to
them all in our power to aid them in their usefulness and
to lighten the burden of their labors.

"With sentiments of the highest respect, believe me
your friend, Benj. F. Butler.

Some time after this General Blanchard, who was in
command of the military in Monroe, La., made a request

NEW ORLEANS. J21

for Sisters to care for the sick and wounded under Ms
charge. A deputation of Sisters was at once sent from
St. Mary's Asylum in Natchez.

The Sisters were obliged to leave in the night in con-
sequence of a dispatch announcing the approach of the
Federal gun boat Essex, which might have prevented their
departure had they remained until the next day. Hence
they were compelled to cross the Mississippi River short-
ly before the midnight hour. The good Bishop of Natchez,
now Most Rev. W. H. Elder, Archbishop of Cincinnati,
alarmed for their safety, determined to accompany them to
the post to which they were destined, and he did so. The
pastor of the church at Monroe was also one of the party.
The Sisters and their friends crossed the river in a skiff,
and, reaching the other side, found an ambulance awaiting
them. They traveled the remainder of that night and the
following two days over a very rough and dangerous road.
General Blanchard had a matron and nurses employed in
the hospital. He dismissed these and arranged with the
Sisters to take charge the day after their arrival.

Sister E had in her ward a convalescent patient

who, deeming himself of more consequence than the oth-
ers, was somewhat piqued at her for not showing him spe-
cial attention. The Sister kept him in his place and treat-
ed him precisely as she did the others. One day she went
as usual to administer the medicines, and as she was pass-
ing the ward in which he w^as located she heard him ut-
ter most terrible oaths. She passed on quietly, but on her
return showed her displeasure at his disorderly conduct.
He made every apology for his misbehavior. The Sister
proceeded on her way, having a bottle in each hand. At a
very short distance from where the man was standing she

*,

122 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

stopped to say a few words to another patient. She hap-
pened to look back and noticed the convalescent man put
his hand in his coat pocket, and at the same instant the
crack of a pistol shot was heard. The baU passed through
the front of the Sister's cornette, within an inch or two of
her forehead. The poor man with whom the Sis-
ter had been talking thought he was wounded
again, jumped up and clapped his hands on his old wound,
as if to assure himself of its escape from harm. The Sister,
pale, but with perfect presence of mind, still held her bot-
tles and made her way through the cloud of smoke and
the crowd that had gathered at the report of the pistol.
The man was arrested and would have been dealt with in
a summary manner, but at the request of the Sister he was
released. He claimed that it was an accident. It was af-
terwards discovered that he was a gambler and had loaded
the pistol to shoot an enrollment oflflcer in town.

In the meantime things were reaching a crisis in the
city of Natchez. One morning the sound of a siiell burst-
ing over the town filled the people with consternation. The
scene that followed is beyond description. Women and
children rushed through the streets screaming with ter-
ror. The asylum was thronged by persons of every de-
scription, who begged to be admitted within its walls. One
of the Sisters speaking of this says: "I can never forget
the anguish I felt at the sight of mothers with infants in
their arms begging us to preserve the lives of their little
ones, without a thought about their own safety. At the
sound of the first shell our good Bishop hastened to the
asylum to assist us in placing the children out of danger
of the shells. The Bishop was surrounded as soon as he
appeared and nothing could be heard but cries of 'Oh,

NEW ORLEANS. 123

Father, hear my confession,' and 'Bishop, baptize me. Do
not let us be killed without baptism.' The Bishop kindly
went into the confessional, but soon perceived that he
would be detained there too long ; therefore he requested
the Sisters to assemble all in the chapel and he would give
a general absolution, as the danger was so imminent. Im-
mediately their cries and sobs were suppressed. The
Bishop, after a few touching words, bade us remember
that no shell could harm the least one among us without
the Divine permission. He then gave a general absolu-
tion to all present."

Shells passed over the building in rapid succession
while the Sisters were kneeling in the chapel. Some of
the bombs fell in the adjoining yard, yet not one of those
in the asylum was injured. Within the silence of death
reigned. No sound was heard but the fervent aspirations
of the Bishop and the suppressed sobs of the smaller chil-
dren. Giving the final blessing the Bishop said : "Tell the
Sisters to take the children away as soon as possible."
When all were in readiness each of the orphans, with a
bundle of clothing, passed out of the asylum with the
thought that they were never again to enter its loved
walls. Five of the Sisters accompanied them, and the oth-
ers, with two sick children, followed in a market wagon,
the only vehicle that could be procured. While the Sis-
ters were placing the smaller children in the wagon a shell
passed over the horse's head, so near as to frighten and
cause the animal to jump, but it fell some distance away
without exploding. The poor children had to go five miles
without resting, so great was the danger. After remain-
ing some weeks in the country the authorities compro-
mised, and the gunboat left the city without doing any

124 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

further damages. The Bishop announced the Forty Hours'
Devotion in thanksgiving.

Good work was done in the Charity Hospital, New Or-
leans. The Sisters of Charity had charge of this hospital
and attended many hundreds of the sick and wounded on
both sides. It was the same with the Marine Hospital of
New Orleans. The first act of one of the Sisters on enter-
ing a ward in this hospital was to grasp a cup of water
from a nurse and baptize a dying soldier.

One Sister relates how she endeavored for a long time
to get a cot for a very sick patient who lay on the floor re-
clining on his carpet bag. She finally succeeded, and then
persuaded a convalescent soldier to convey the sick man
to the cot. The patient was unwilling to go without his
carpet bag and his boots, fearing they would be stolen if
he left them. He kept a watchful eye on them all the time,
and the Sister, understanding the reluctant movements of
the patient, took up the carpet bag in one hand and the
boots in the other and followed. The poor man was very
much struck with the humility and charity of the Sister,
and said:

"The soldiers wonder how the Sisters can work so
hard without pay."

The Sister replied: "Our pay is in a coin more pre-
cious than gold; it is laid up in a country more desirable
than any that exists on this earth."

CHAPTER XIII.

SOUTHERN BATTLEFIELDS.

A letter from Central Georgia begging for Sisters of Charity.— "Are they men
or women?" A cautious priest who took the good nurses for impos-
tors. The train crashes through a bridge. The "magic" lunch basket
and how it fed an unlimited number of Sisters and soldiers. The hospitals
at Marietta and Atlanta.

After the battle of Fredericksburg, in December,
1862, the Sisters who had been looking after the sick and
wounded in the hospitals near Richmond soon found their
labors reduced very materially.
The armies on both sides were be-
coming more accustomed to the
hardships of the camps, and as a
result there was less sickness in
the various regiments. There had
also been a cessation of battles in
the vicinity of Richmond, and as a
consequence there were no wound-
ed men to care for. The Sisters, feeling that their useful-
ness was at an end, called upon the officer in charge and
asked for passports in order that they might return
through the lines to their Emmittsburg home. The official
would not consent to their going away, claiming that he
knew they would be needed in other places in the near
future. This being the case, they remained.

(125)

126 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

The next day a letter came from the military in Cen-
tral Georgia, begging for Sisters of Charity to be sent to
their hospital there. Five Sisters left for this place on
the night of February 24, 1863. A fierce battle had taken
place, rendering the services of the Sisters very necessary.
On the way, at many places where they stopped, there was
great curiosity at the sight of their peculiar garb. Upon
one occasion, having to wait two hours for a train, the cui-i-
ous bystanders examined the Sisters closely, saying :

''Who are they?" "Are they men or women?" "Oh,
what a strange uniform this company has adopted." "Sure-
ly the enemy will run from them."

Once or twice the crowd pushed roughly against the
Sisters, as though to see whether they were human beings
or not. A Sister spoke to a woman at the station, and
thereupon many in the crowd clapped their hands and
shouted : 'She spoke ! she spoke !"

At one of the towns where the Sisters stopped they
did not know where to look for lodgings. Acting upon the
first impulse, they went to the Catholic pastor's residence
and inquired where they might be accommodated. The
good old priest, strange as it may seem, had never seen
their costume before, and as every day had its impostures
to avoid, he was reserved and cautious, even unwilling to
direct them to any house. At last his pity got the better
of his prudence and he said slowly: "I will show you
where the Sisters of Mercy live." He took them there,
where the good Mother received them with open arms,
saying: "Oh, the dear Sisters of Charity. You are truly
welcome to my house."

This lady had been kindly entertained some years be-
fore by the Sisters of Charity at Baltimore. The poor,

SOUTHERN BATTLEFIELDS. 127

abashed priest had kept near the door, fearing he had put
trouble on the good Sisters of Mercy, but when he saw the
reception accorded the visitors he brightened up. Ap-
proaching one of the Sisters with outstretched hands, he
said: "Oh, ladies, make friends; I thought you were im-
postors."

Continuing the journey, one night a cry suddenly went
up: "The cars have gone through the bridge and we are
in the river." The greatest excitement prevailed in the
train. Passengers rushed to and fro, falling over one an-
other in their confusion. The Sisters had gone through so
many exciting scenes during the war that they had
learned the value of retaining their presence of mind in
such an emergency. They remained still and soon learned
that the accident had not occurred to their train, but to
one coming in the opposite direction. Except by the help
of torches very little could be done until daylight. Two
of the Sisters, however, crossed to the other side of the
bridge and gave suitable attention to the sufferers, wash-
ing and binding their wounds. None were killed or in seri-
ous danger. By 12 o'clock the next day they reached a
town. No refreshments were to be had. The work of de-
vastation on the part of Sherman's army had preceded
them. Fortunately a little basket of lunch, originally pre-
pared for five Sisters, offered some sustenance. The next
day the number of Sisters had increased to eleven and
several strangers also, with whom they shared their sup-
plies. At 9 o'clock the same evning a poor soldier near
them in the car said : "Oh, but I am hungry. I have not
had one crumb of food this day."

Out came the magic basket and the sufferer was satis-
fied. Immediately others asked for food. The two follow-

128 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

ing days the Sisters had the soldiers to supply besides
themselves, and yet the generous basket was true to all
demands. On the third day's journey they reached their
field of labor. It was in the town of Marietta. A very fine
building had been prepared for hospital purposes, and the
whole place, with its wants and workings, was placed in
charge of the Sisters. Their trained hands soon reduced
everything to a system, and from that hour until its close
the affairs of the institution went like clockwork.

The Sisters were five weeks without having the op-
portunity or facilities for hearing Mass. Two Sisters at
last went to Atlanta, where there were two priests, and
begged that they might at least have Mass at Easter,
which was then approaching. This was agreed to, and not
only the Sisters, but many poor soldiers made their Easter
duty. An earnest appeal was also made for a chaplain,
and "headquarters" appointed one. Before he arrived,
however, orders were given to remove, as the enemy was
advancing. The Sisters had just received many wounded
soldiers, and these men grieved bitterly when the religious
left them. (1).

(1). One of the nurses who did splendid service in the South was
Sister Mary Gabriel. She was the daughter of the late Henry W.
and Barbara Kraft, of Philadelphia. When little more than a child
she entered the novitiate at Emmittsburg, Md., an action which
even then had been delayed a year in deference to her father's ex-
pressed wish. At the end of two years she was professed on the
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, 1842.

Her first mission was the Charity Hospital, New Orleans,
where she entered upon what proved to be a long life of devotion to
the poor sick. Soon after her arrival she contracted the dreaded
yellow fever while nursing stricken patients, and her life was de-
spaired of. She recovered, however, and was again at the post of
danger in the plague-stricken city. During the war she labored among

SOUTHERN BATTLEFIELDS. 129

On the 24th of May, in response to an urgent appeal,
the Sisters reached Atlanta, where nearly all the houses
were filled with the sick and wounded. Only tents could
be raised for the Sisters. T,hey had five hundred patients
in the tents at the start, and large numbers were added
daily. The Sisters were provided with a little log house,
containing two small rooms. The mice ran over them at
night and the rain was so constant through the day that
their umbrellas were always in their hands. Two of them
became very ill. The surgeon told them to keep in readi-
ness for a move, but the patients were so happy and doing
so well under their care that he could not think of their
leaving at that time.

A poor man, badly wounded, had been very cross and
abusive towards the Sister who served him, but she in-
creased her kindness and on the surface did not seem to
understand his rudeness. At last he became very weak,
and one day when she was waiting on him she saw that
he was weeping. She said: "Have I pained you? I know
I am too rough. Pardon me this time and I will try to
spare you pain again, for I would rather lessen than aug-
men distress in this hour of misery."

He burst into tears and said: "My heart is indeed
pained at my ingratitude towards you, for I have received
nothing less than maternal care from you, and I have

the dying soldiers at Mobile and Holly Springs. Twice in later
years she visited Philadelphia, the second visit following retirement
from active duty. It was during this second visit and while she was
staying at St. Joseph's Hospital that she celebrated her golden
jubilee. Her superiors finding her so full of vigor and zeal, again
assigned her to active duty, and at her own request she was re-
turned to the Charity Hospital, New Orleans. This devoted Sister
passed to her reward about the fall of 1896.

130 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

received it in anger. Do pardon me. I declare I am
forced to respect your patience and charity. When I came
into this hospital and found that the Sisters were the
nurses my heart was filled with hatred. My mind was
filled with prejudice — a prejudice which I confess was
inherited from those nearest and dearest to me. I did
not believe that anything good could come from the Sis-
ters. But now I see my mistake all too clearly, and in see-
ing it I recognize the unintentional blackness of my own
heart. I have seen the Sisters in their true light. I see
their gentleness, their humility, their daily — aye, their
hourly sacrifices, their untiring work for others; in a word,
their great love for humanity. Forgive me if you can."

This man soon after expired with the most edifying
sentiments upon his lips.

The Sisters were employed at Camp Dennison until
the hospitals there were systematized ; then they went to
New Creek, Va,, and Cumberland, Md. During Pope's
campaign they followed Sigel's corps in the ambulances.
After the battle of Stone River they went to Nashville
and took charge of Hospital 14, capable of accommodating
700 or 800 patients. The following document, written
on the occasion of the Sisters leaving Nashville, will show
the light in which they were regarded by the inmates of
the hospital. The paper was signed by two hundred and
thirty-six persons.

General Hospital No. 14, Nashville, Tenn., November, 1863.
To the Late Superior and Sisters of Charity in At-
tendance of Said Hospital:— The undersigned attaches
and patients in said hospital have learned with regret
that you contemplate leaving your present post of labor,
and the object of this is to express the hope that you may

SOUTHERN BATTLEFIELDS. 131

be induced to forego that intention, and kindly consent
to remain witli us:

During your stay in the hospital you have been in-
deed sisters to all the patients, and your uniform kindness
to all has endeared you to all our hearts.

Should you leave us we can only say that wherever
you may go you will bear with you the soldier's gratitude
and our earnest hope and prayer is that in whatever field
you may labor in future you may be as happy as you have
been kind and charitable to us, and may heaven's choicest
blessings be showered upon you for your kindnesses to
the poor sick and and wounded soldier.

Private William N. Nelson, Nineteenth Illinois Infantry,
writes that he was passing through the ward getting
signatures to the above petition when one poor fellow,
who was lying on the bed almost dead, aroused himselt
and said: "I want to sign that paper. I would sign it fiftj
times if asked, for the Sisters have been to me as my
mother since I have been here, and I believe had I been
here before I would have been well long ago. But if the
Sisters leave I know I shall die. This is the feeling of
every sick soldier under the care of the Sisters."

On May 2, 1863, General Joseph Hooker, who had
succeeded Burnside, fought General Lee at Chancellors-
ville, but was defeated. Lee followed up this victory by
crossing the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, and marching
into Pennsylvania. The Union army under General Meade
advanced to meet him, and then came Gettysburg.

CHAPTER XIV.

GETTYSBURG.

Twelve Sisters depart for the battlefield from the Mother House at Emmitts-
burg. A white handkerchief on a stick serves as a flag of truce. An
open charnel house red with the blood of American manhood. The little
church in the town of Gettysburg filled with the sick and wounded. A
Sister saves the life of a helpless man. " I belong to the Methodist
Church."

What is now generally conceded to have been the
decisive battle of the Civil War was fought on the 1st, 2d
and 3d of July, 1863. It took place in and around Gettys-
burg, a town located only about ten
miles north of Emmittsburg, the
mother house of the Sisters of Char-
ity. The Union army was under the
control of General George G.
Meade, and the Confederate forces
under General Robert E. Lee. Over
140,000 men were engaged in that
bloody struggle, which lasted until the
evening of the third day. The contending armies by their
movements advanced more and more toward the Sisters'
house in Maryland. The scene of this historic battle
covered an area of over twenty-five square miles. The
soldiers were so close to the Sisters' house that the build-
ings trembled from the fearful cannonading.

(132)

GETTYSBURG. 133

On tlie morning of July 1, as the head of the One
Hundred and Seventh Kegiment, Pennsylvania Volun-
teers, Second Division, First (Reynolds) Corps was ap-
proaching St. Joseph's Academy near Emmittsburg the
soldiers were greeted with a remarkable and impressive
sight A long line of young girls led by several Sisters of
Charity took their position along the side of the road and
at a word from the Sister m charge all fell upon their
knees and with upturned faces toward the vaulted skies
earnestly prayed for the spiritual and physical safety of
the men who were about to go into deadly battle. The
sight was at once solemn and inspiring in the extreme.
The roughest soldiers ofttimes have the tenderest hearts,
and this scene affected them more than they cared to
confess. In an instant the head of every soldier in the
line was bowed and bared, and remained so until the
prayer was finished. All instinctively felt that the pray-
ers of those self-sacrificing women and innocent children
would be answered. To many of the men it was a har-
binger of coming victory as certain as the sunshine that
smiled upon them on that beautiful July morning. The
scene was photographed upon the mind of many a veteran
and remained ever afterwards as one of the sweetest
memories of the war. (1)

The night of the third day the rain fell heavily, and
it continued raining all the next day. On Sunday morn-
ing immediately after Mass, Rev. James Francis Bur-
lando, with twelve Sisters, left Emmittsburg for the bat-
tlefield, taking refreshments, bandages, sponges and

(1). The accuracy of this story is vouched for by several persons
who were eye-witnesses of the incident. One of these was Major
John C. Delaney, now of Harrisbnrg, Pa.

134 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

clothing, with the intention of doing all that was possible
for the suffering soldiers and then returning home the
next evening (2). The roads previous to the rain had been
in a bad condition and the two armies had passed over
them with diflflculty. But with the mighty rain the mud
became so thick that they were almost impassable. The
subdued Southerners having retired, their thousands of
dead and wounded were left on the field and in the bams
and farmhouses in the vicinity. Scouts of the North were
stationed here and there, prepared to meet and cope with
any eleventh hour surprises. One of these bands seeing
the Sisters' carriages was about to fire on them, thinking
they were the ambulances of the enemy. The Sisters had
reached a double blockade of zigzag fence thrown across
the road for defensive purposes. The visitors wondered
whether they dare go around it by turning into the fields,
for in the distance they saw soldiers, half hidden in the
woods, watching them. Father Burlando put a white
handkerchief on a stick and holding it high in the air,
walked towards them, while the Sisters alighted and
walked about, so that the concealed soldiers might see
their white head-dress, known as cornettes. The men
viewed the priest sharply, for they had resolved to refuse
to recognize a flag of truce if it were offered, but the
sight of the cornettes reassured them. They met the
priest and, learning his mission, sent an escort with him
to open a passage for the Sisters through the fields. The
meek messengers of peace and charity soon came in sight
of the ravages of grim war.

(2). Father Burlando was a notable member of the Congrega-
tion of the Missions, commonly knows as Lazarists Fathers. A
sketch of his useful career will be found in appendix vii at the end
of this volume.

GETTYSBURG. 135

It was a sight that once seen was not soon to be
forgotten. Thousands of guns and swords, representing
the weapons of the living, the wounded and the dead,
lay scattered about. The downpour from heaven had
filled the roads with water, but on this awful battlefield
it was red with real blood. The night before the unpity-
ing stars shone down upon the stark forms of the flower
of American manhood. Hundreds of magnificent horses —
man's best friend to the end — had breathed their last
and lay by the sides of their dead masters. Silent senti-
nels upon horseback, as motionless: almost as the dead
about them, sat guarding this gruesome open-air charnel.

With the first streak of gray dawn the work of inter-
ment had begun. Bands of soldiers were engaged in
digging graves and others were busy carrying the bodies
to them. There was no attempt at system. Vast excava-
tions were made and as many bodies as possible placed
in them. The dead were generally buried where they
fell. In one trench at the foot of the slope known as
Gulp's Hill sixty Confederates were buried. In that
three days' fight 2834 Union soldiers were killed and
14,492 wounded. On the Confederate side there were
5500 killed and 21,500 wounded. Thousands of the slightly
wounded cared for themselves without the assistance of
either doctor or nurses. Thousands of others were ship-
ped to the Satterlee Hospital, in West Philadelphia,
where their wants were looked after by the Sisters of
Charity in that institution. The remainder were forced
to remain in Gettysburg.

This was the condition of things that confronted the
brave Sisters as they rode over the battlefield on that

136 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

scorching July day. Frightful as it may seem, their
carriage wheels actually rolled through blood. At times
the horses could scarcely he induced to proceed on ac-
count of the ghastly objects in front of them. The sight of
bodies piled two and three high caused the animals to
rear up on their hind legs and kick over the traces in a
most uncomfortable manner. In the midst of the sicken-
ing scenes the Sisters discovered one little group sitting
about an improvised fire trying to cook some meat. The
carriage was directed to this point and here again Father
Burlando informed the soldiers of his errand. The offi-
cers seemed well pleased and told the Sisters to go into
the town of Gettysburg, where they would find sufficient
employment for their zealous charity. Every large build-
ing in Gettysburg was being filled as fast as the wounded
men could be carried in. Within and around the city one
hundred and thirteen hospitals were in operation, be-
sides those located in private houses. On reaching Get-
tysburg the Sisters were shown to the hospital, where
they distributed their little stores and did all they could
to relieve and console the wounded soldiers.

Two of the Sisters returned to Emmittsburg that
same evening with Father Burlando, for the purpose of
sending additional nurses to relieve those already on the
ground. On arriving at the first hospital the surgeon in
charge took the Sisters to the ladies who had been at-
tending there and said to them: ^'Ladies, here are the
Sisters of Charity come to sene our wounded; they will
give all the directions here; you are only required to ob-
serve them." Those addressed cheerfully bowed their
assent.

GETTYSBUEG. 137

The soldiers seemed to think that the presence of
the Sisters softened, their anguish. One Sister was giving
a drink to a poor dying man with a teaspoon. It was
slow work and a gentleman who entered unobserved at
the time stood near by without speaking for some mo-
ments. This gentleman was from a distance and was
in search of the very person the Sister was serving. Stand-
ing a moment in silence, he exclaimed in a loud voice:
"May God bless the Sisters of Charity," and repeated it
emphatically, adding: "I am a Protestant, but may God
bless the Sisters of Charity."

The Catholic Church in Gettysburg was filled with
sick and wounded. The stations of the cross hung around
the walls, with a very large oil painting of St. Francis
Xavier holding in his hand a crucifix. The first man put
in the sanctuary was baptized, expressing truly Christian
sentiments. His pain was excruciating and when sym-
pathy was offered him he said : "Oh, what are the pains I
suffer compared with those of my Redeemer." Thus dis-
posed he died. The soldiers lay on the pew seats, under
them and in every aisle. They were also in the sanctu-
ary and in the gallery, so close together that there was
scarcely room to move about. Many of them lay in their
own blood and the water used for bathing their wounds,
but no word of complaint escaped from their lips. Others
were dying with lockjaw, making it very difficult to ad-
minister drinks and nourishment. Numbers of the men
had their wounds dressed for the first time by the Sis-
ters, surgeons at that junctpre being few in number.
When the Sisters entered in the morning it was no un-
common thing to hear the men cry out : "Oh, come, please

138 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

dress my wound," and "Oh, come to me next." To all the
pain suffered by the soldiers was added the deprivations
of home friends and home comforts, which in such times
come so vividly to the mind.

Four of the Sisters attended the sick in the Tran-
sylvania College building, which for the time being was
used as a prison for about six hundred Confederate sol-
diers. The Sisters dressed their wounds as in other cases.
Every morning when they returned, eight or ten dead
bodies lay at the entrance of the college awaiting inter-
ment. Two youths lay in an outstretched blanket and a
little ditch two inches deep was around the earth they
lay upon, to prevent the rain from running under them.

There was quite a sensational scene in this prison
one morning. One of the Sisters hearing a great noise
among the patients looked to see the cause. She discov-
ered a group of men with guns aimed at one poor, help-
less man. There had been a quarrel, and no one attempt-
ed to stop the strife. The Sister promptly and with no
thought of personal danger hurried over to the group ana
placed her hand on the shoulder of the prospective corpse.
Then she pushed him back into the surgeon's room, hold-
ing her other arm out to hinder the men from pureuing
him. There was a dead silence. The poor man was put
safely inside the doctor's room and his tormentors retired
without a word, quietly putting away their guns. The
silence continued for some time. The Sister placidly re-
sumed her duties in the mess room.

Presently the doctor came to her and said: "Sister,
you have surprised me. I shall never forget what I have
witnessed. I saw their anger and heard the excitement,
but feared that my presence would increase it. T did

GETTYSBUEG. 139

not know w-hat to do, but you came and everything was
all right. Indeed, this will never die in my memory."

"Well," replied the Sister calmly, "what did I do more
than any other person would have done? You know they
were ashamed to resist a woman."

"A woman!" exclaimed the doctor; "why, all the
women in Gettysburg could not have effected what you
have. No one but a Sister of Charity could have done
this. Truly it would have been well if a company of Sis-
ters of Charity had been in the war, for then it might not
have continued so long."

One young man after being baptized requested the
Sister to stay with him until he died. He prayed fer-
vently until the last breath, and almost his final words
were: "Oh, Lord, bless the Sisters of Charity." This
brought a crowd around him, as his bed was on the floor.
The Sister was kneeling by him and continued to pray
for him until the last; then she closed his mouth and
bandaged his face with a towel, in the usual manner. They
who stood near said one to another: •'Was this man her
relative?"

"No," was the reply; 'Hbut she is a Sister of Charity."

"Well," said one of the company, "I have often beard
of the Sisters of Charity, and I can now testify that they
have been properly named."

The surgeon remarked to the religious: "Sisters, you
must be more punctual at your repast. I see you are often
here until 4 o'clock in the afternoon without your dinner,
working for others with a two-fold strength. Where it
comes from I do not know — forgetting no one but your-
selves. You should, however, try to preserve your own
health."

140 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

A Protestant gentleman remarked to one of the
Sisters tliat "the Sisters of Charity have done more for
religion during the war than has ever been done in this
country before."

Both the Catholic church and the Methodist church
in Gettysburg were used for hospital purposes. One day
a Sister from the Catholic church had ordered her sup-
plies, as usual, from the sanitary store. Soon after this a
Sister who was nursing the sick in the Methodist church
called at the store and as she was about to leave the mer-
chant said:

"Where are these articles to be sent? I believe that
you belong to the Catholic church,"

"No, sir," replied the Sister, with a barely suppressed
smile. "I belong to the Methodist church. Send the goods
there."

After the more severely wounded had been removed
by friends, or had died, the officers began directing the
work of transferring the remaining patients from the
town hospital to a wood of tents, called the general hos-
pital.

A Sister was passing through the streets of Gettys-
burg about this time when a Protestant chaplain, running
several squares to overtake her, said:

"I see Sisters of Charity everywhere but in our gen-
eral hospital. Why are they not there?"

The Sister told him that when the wounded men had
been removed none of the surgeons or officers had asked
them to go there or they would have gone willingly.

"Well," he said, "I will go immediately to the provost
and ask him to have you sent there. I feel sure that he
needs you there."

GETTYSBUEG. 141

In going over the field encampment one of the Sis-
ters was pleased and saddened to find her own brother,
whom she had not seen for nine years. He had been
wounded in the chest and ankle and was in one of the
hospitals in the town. The meeting under such circum-
stances was an affecting one. Both were devoted, loyal
souls, each doing duty earnestly according to his or her
knowledge of the right. Through the kindness of the
oflflcer of the day the wounded man was permitted to be
removed to the hospital where his sister was in charge.

A few days after the battle of Gettysburg Father
Burlando wrote a letter to one of his reverend colleagues
in MarA'land. Some of the facts mentioned in this docu-
ment have already been told in this chapter, but the fact
that it was written while the echoes of that famous fight
were still fresh makes it of unusual interest. It is as
foUows :

Emmitsburg, July 8, 1863.

Rev. and Dear Sir: — You have been informed with-
out doubt by the papers that we have been visited by
the Army of the Potomac, and that very near us has
been fought a tbi'rible battle, the most bloody since the
secession- St, Joseph has well taken care of his house,
and St. Vincent of his daughters; we have not been trou-
bled, or at least we have escaped with the slight loss of
a little forage and some wooden palings, which have
served for the wants of a portion of the army.

The evening of the 27th of June the troops com-
menced to appear upon a small hill a little distance from
St. Joseph's. Regiment after regiment, division after
division, all advanced with artUlery and cavalry, and
taking possession of all the heights encamped in order
of battle. The 28th, 29th and 30th we were completely
surrounded. General Howard and his suite took pos-

142 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

session of our house in Emmitsburg; General Schultz and
his suite were close to St. Joseph'p, in the house which
served some time since for an orphanage; the other
Generals took quarters in different houses along the line
of army.

For the protection of St. Joseph's General Schultz
gave orders that guards should be posted in its environs,
and General Howard did the same for our little place in
Emmittsburg. A great number of officers asked permis-
sion to visit the house, and all conducted themselves with

courtesy, expressing gratitude for the services rendered
the soldiers in military hospitals by the Sisters.

On Monday this portion of the army departed, and
was replaced by another not less numerous, which ranged
itself in line of battle as the first. A colonel of artillery,
Mr. Latrobiere, with other officers quartered in the or-
phanage ; he also visited the Institution. The Sisters dis-
tributed bread, milk and coffee.

On the 1st of July the battle commenced about seven
miles from Emmittsburg. Whilst the booming of the can-
non announced that God was punishing the iniquities ot
man our Sisters were in church praying and imploring
mercy for all mankind.

On Sunday I accompanied eight Sisters bearing medi-
caments and provisions for the wounded. At the dis-
tance of six miles we were stopped by a barricade, and
at about three hundred yards there was another to inter-
cept all communication. At the second was stationed a
company of Federal soldiers, who perceived us from afar.
I descended from the carriage, and raising a white hand-
kerchief advanced to the second barricade, and announced
the purpose of our errand. Immediately several soldiers
were sent to open the way, and the two vehicles continued
their route without danger. At some distance we found
ourselves again in face of another barricade, which com-
pelled us to make a long circuit. Behold us at last upon
the scenes of combat — what a frightful spectacle! Ruins

GETTYSBURG. 143

of burned houses; the dead of both armies lying here and
there; numbers of dead horses; thousands of guns, swords,
vehicles, wheels, projectiles of all dimensions, coverings,
hats, habiliments of all color, covered the fields and the
road. We made circuits to avoid passing over dead bodies ;
horses, terrified, recoiled or sprang from one side to the
other. The further we advanced the more abundant were
the evidences presented of a terrible combat, and tears
could not be restrained in the presence of these objects
of horror. At last we halted in the village of Gettysburg.
There was found a good portion of the Federal army in
possession of the field of battle. The inhabitants had but
just issued from the cellars wherein they had sought
safety during the engagement. Terror was still painted
upon their countenances. All was in confusion, each
temple, each house, the Catholic church, the Court House,
the Protestant Seminary were filled with wounded, and
still there were many thousands extended upon the field
of battle nearly without succor. I placed two of our Sis-
ters in each one of the three largest improvised hospitals,
offered some further consolations to the wounded and then
returned to St. Joseph's.

The next day I started with more Sisters and a re-
inforcement of provisions. Meanwhile provisions had
been sent by the Government, and the poor wounded suc-
cored, and the inhabitants having recovered from their
terror have given assistance to thousands of suffering and
dying. Eleven Sisters were now employed in this town
transformed into a hospital. We shall send some Sisters
and necessaries to-morrow if possible. Whilst I write
you the sound of cannonading re-echoes from the South-
west, where another engagement takes place. My God,
when will you give peace to our unhappy country ?

Yours, BURLANDO.

CHAPTER XV.

SATTERLEE HOSPITAL.

A sketch of the remarkable labors of Sister Mary Gonzaga and her work as
the executive head of a hospital where 50,000 sick and wounded soldiers
were cared for. The chaplain kept bust preparing men for death. Bishop
Wood visits the hospital and administers the sacrament of confirmation.
A soldier who was saved from the stocks. A veteran's tribute.

As stated in the previous chapter many car-loads of
wounded soldiers were conveyed from Gettysburg to the
Satterlee Hospital in Philadelphia. Sister Mary Gonzaga,

who was in charge of this in-
stitution, deserves special
mention in connection with
her work during the war. If
nobility of character, earnest-
ness and purity of purpose,
great natural executive abil-
ity, together with unaffected

SISTER GONZAGA. . , -, , .... . ■,, n

piety and humility tell for
anything, this Sister will rank high in the bright galaxy
of self-sacrificing women whose lives have illumined the
history of Catholic Sistershoods in the United States.
Celebrating her golden jubilee, April 12, 1877, she could
even then look back over a series of years in the course
of which she has been school teacher, nurse. Mother Su-

(1). The interesting event took place on April 12. 1S77.
(144)

SATTERLEE HOSPITAL. 145

perior, head of a large orphan asylum and the executive
of a great military hospital, where nearly 50,000 sick
and wounded soldiers received the self-sacrificing atten-
tion of a staff of sixty or seventy Sisters of Charity.
Sister Gonzaga, just before her death, was credited
with being the oldest living Sister of Charity in the
United States. She spent the tranquil evening of a
busy and eventful life as the Mother Emeritus of St.
Joseph's Orphan Asylum, one of the magnificent char-
ities of the City of Brotherly Love.

This venerable woman's name in the world was Marj
Agnes Grace. She came from a respected Baltimore fam-
ily, being born in that city in 1812, She was baptized in
St. Patrick's Church, and there and in a Christian home
received her preliminary religious training. In Decem-
ber, 1823, she was sent to St. Joseph's Academy, Emmits-
burg, Md., where she proved to be a most diligent pupil.
The four years she spent in this institution helped to
make that certain foundation upon which her subsequent
successful career was built. She had early conceived the
idea of retiring from the world and devoting her life en-
tirely to the service of God. Accordingly, on March 11,
1827, she was received into the community of the Sisters
of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. In April, 1828, in
company with two other Sisters, she opened a school in
Harrisburg. On the 25th of March, 1830 she made her
holy vows.

In May, 1830, Sister Gonzaga was sent to Philadel-
phia to St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, with which her fu-
ture was to be so intimately connected. The Asjdum at
that time was situated on Sixth street, near Spruce,
adjoining Holy Trinity Church. On October 24, 1836, the

146 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

institution was removed to the site of the present asylum
at the southwest comer of Seventh and Spruce streets.
Four Sisters and fifty-one children comprised the popula-
tion then. The Sisters were Sister Petronilla, Sister
Theodosia, Sister Mary John and Sister Mary Gonzaga.
Sister Petronilla died on August 3, 1843, sincerely mourn-
ed, and was succeeded by Sister Gonzaga, who remained
in charge until October, 1844. Here she went on with her
good work, placid and calm in the midst of the worrying
turbulence of anti-Catholic bitterness and persecution,
which at times threatened the lives of innocent women
and children. In the latter part of 1844 she was sent to
DonaldsonviUe, La., as assistant in the Novitiate, which
at that time was for the purpose of graduating Southern
postulants.

In the following year Sister Gonzaga was transferred
to New Orleans. On March 19, 1851, she returned to St.
Joseph's Asylum in Philadelphia to re-assume her former
charge. In 1855 she was sent in an administrative capac-
ity to the mother house of the Order in France, where
she remained for a year, obtaining and imparting much
valuable information regarding the work and duties of
Sisters. In May, 1856, she returned to the United States,
going to St. Joseph's, Emmittsburg where she filled the
office of Procuratrix. In January, lS57, she returned to
Philadelphia, taking charge of her old love, St. Joseph's
Asylum, for the third time.

The beginning of the Civil War a few years later was
to mark one of the most eventful epochs in the career
of Sister Gonzaga, and to develop extraordinary gifts and
qualities of administration. The Satterlee Military Hos-
pital was established in Philadelphia. Dr. Walter F. At-

SATTEKLEE HOSPITAL. 147

lee, an honored physician of the Quaker City, felt that
the interests of the Government and of the soldiers would
be benefited if the Sisters of Charity were installed as
nurses in the army hospital. He had several interviews
with Surgeon-General Hammond and with the Secretary
of War, Edwin M. Stanton. As a result of this the Sis-
ters of Charity were invited to assume charge. On June 9,
1862, Sister Gonzaga, accompanied by 40 Sisters, assem-
bled from all parts of the United States, entered upon
the duties in the hospital. It is difficult to estimate the
good work done by the Sisters during the period they
spent in this place, which has been aptly styled the
"shadow of the valley of death." In those three momentous
years the Sisters nursed and cared for upwards of 50,000
soldiers. Only those who have had the care of the sick
can begin to estimate the amount of ceaseless labor and
patience involved in such a vast undertaking. The sick
and wounded comprised both Union and Confederate sol-
diers. The gentleness of the Sisters soon endeared them to
all under their charge.

In securing the necessary number of Sisters a requisi-
tion was made by Surgeon-General Hammond for twenty-
five from the mother house at Emmittsburg. They were
sent to Philadelphia at once to take their places in
the new hospital. To quote one of the Sisters,
the place was so large that "they could
scarcely find the entrance." The workmen about the
grounds looked at the Sisters in amazement, thinking per-
haps that they belonged to some flying artillery. At 12
o'clock they repaired to the kitchen for dinner, and by the
time this meal was finished they found plenty of work had
been planned for them. One hundred and fifty men who

148 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

had been brouglit in were in the wards. All of the Sis-
ters went to work and prepared nourishment for the men,
most of whom looked at them in astonishment, not know-
ing what kind of persons they might be, bnt among the
number was a French soldier named Pierre, who imme-
diately recognized the garb of the "Daughters of Charity."
In a short time the number of patients was increased to
nine hundred.

On the 16th of August over fifteen hundred of the
sick and wounded were brought to the hospital, most
of them from the Battle of Bull Run or Manassas. Many
had died on the way from sheer exhaustion, others were
in a dying state, so that the chaplain was kept busy in
preparing the men for death. The wards being now
crowded, tents were erected in the yard to accommodate
over one thousand patients, for the Sisters at that time
had not less than forty-five hundred in the hospital. When
they first went to Satterlee their quarters were very lim-
ited, consisting of one small room, about seven feet square,
which served as a chapel. Another, somewhat larger,
answered the purpose of a dormitory by night and com-
munity room by day. Dr. Hayes soon supplied four more
rooms, one of which was for a chapel. The soldiers, who
were very much interested, took up a collection among
themselves and gave the money to the Sisters, requesting
them to purchase ornaments or whatever was needed for
the chapel. They did so at different times until they
finally had a good supply of everything that was neces-
sary. They even secured new seats and sanctuary car-
pet. The men stipulated that when the hospital was
closed the Sisters should take everything for the
orphans.

In April, 1863, Rt. Rev. Bishop Wood administered

SATTEKLEE HOSPITAL. U9

the sacrament of Oonflrmation in the little chapel to
thirty-one soldiers, most of whom were converts and
two of whom were over 40 years of age. In
February, 1864, forty-four others received the
sacrament of Confirmation. One man was unable
to leave his bed, and the Bishop was kind
enough to go to the ward in his robes to confirm the man.
After the ceremony the prelate distributed little souvenirs
of his visit and then asked the Catholics who were present
to approach the railing of the altar. To his great aston-
ishment as well as satisfaction all in the chapel came for-
ward. He gave a little exhortation and then dismissed
them. Mass was said at 6 o'clock in the morning, and
many of the patients were in the chapel at half -past four,
in order to secure seats. This was generally the case on
great festivals, although some of the crippled men had
to be carried in the arms of their comrades. At 3 o'clock
on Sundays and festivals Vespers were sung in the chapel,
in which the patients felt quite privileged to join. In Lent
they had the Way of the Cross, and in May the devotions
of the month of Mary. The chapel was always crowded
at these times. The soldiers took great delight in decora-
ting the chapel at Christmas with green boughs, festooned
with roses; Indeed, it always gave them great pleasure to
help the Sisters in any kind of work, and they often inter-
fered when they found their kind nurses engaged in la-
borious duties. In May, 1864, a Jubilee was celebrated at
the hospital with great success.

Cases of smallpox had occurred in the hospital from
time to time, but the patients were removed as soon as
possible to the smaUpox hospital, which was some m_iles
from the city. The poor men were very much distressed
because ihey were compelled to leave the Sisters. It was

150 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

heartrending when the ambulances came to hear the
men begging to be left at Satterlee, even if they were en-
tirely alone, provided the Sisters were near them. The Sis-
ters offered their services several times to attend these
I>oor men, but were told that the Government had ordered
them away to prevent the contagion from spreading. At
last the surgeon in charge obtained permission to keep
the smallpox patients in a camp some distance from the
hospital. The tents were made very comfortable, with
good large stoves to heat them. The next thing was to
have the Sisters in readiness in case their sei-vices should
be required. Every Sister was courageous and generous
enough to offer her services, but it was thought prudent
to accept one who had had the disease. From November,
1864, until May, 1865, there were upwards of ninety cases.
About nine or ten of these died. Two of the men had the
black smallpox, and were baptized before they expired.
The Sisters had entire charge of the poor sufferers, as
the physicians seldom paid them a visit, permitting the
Sisters to do anything they thought proper for them. They
were much benefited and avoided being marked by drink-
ing freely of tea made of "pitcher plant." The patients
seemed to think the Sisters were not like other human
beings, or they would not attend to such loathsome and
contagious diseases.

One day a Sister was advising an application for a
man who had been poisoned in the face. He would not see
the doctor because, he said, he did not do him any good.
The Sister told him that the remedy she advised iiad cured
a Sister who was poisoned. The man looked astonished
and said: "A Sister?" She answered, "Yes." ''Why," he
said, "I did not know that Sisters ever got anything like

SATTERLEE HOSPITAL. 151

that." She told him that they were human beings and
liable to take diseases as well as anyone else. ''But I be-
lieye they are not," he said, "for the boys often say they
must be different from anyone else, or from other people,
for they never get sick and they do for us what no other
person would do. They are not afraid of the fever, small-
pox or anything else." The men had more confidence in
the Sisters' treatment than in that of the physicians'. The
doctors themselves acknowledged that they would have
lost more of their patients had it not been for the Sisters'
watchful care and knowledge of medicine.

One occurrence will s.how the good feeling of the men
towards the Sisters . One of the convalescent patients had
been in town on a furlough, and while there had indulged
too freely in liquor. On his return he went quietly to
bed. A sister, not knowing this, went with his medicine
as usual and touched his bedclothes to arouse him. The
poor man, being stupid and sleepy, thought his comrades
were teasing him, and lifting up his arm gave a terrific
blow, sending the Sister and medicine across the room.
Several of the convalescent patients seized their comrade
by the collar, and would surely have choked him to death
if the Sister had not compelled them to desist. However,
he was soon reported by the men and sent under an es-
cort to the guard house, where stocks were prepared for
him.

Nothing could be done for his release, as the surgeon
in charge was absent. As soon as that official returned
the Sister begged that the poor man might return to his
ward and be also free from all other punishment, as well
as from imprisonment in the guard house. The surgeon
complied with the Sister^s request, but in order to make

152 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

a strong impression on the soldier he dispatched an order
to all the wards, which was read at roll call, as follows:
"This man was released only by the earnest entreaty of
the Sisters ; otherwise he would have been punished with
the utmost severity." When the poor man came to him-
self and learned what he had done he begged a thousand
pardons and promised never to take liquor again.

The following notes from the diaries of the Sisters are
of interest:

"From our taking charge of the hospital, June the
9th, 1862, until we left it, on August 3, 1865, ninety-one
Sisters had been on duty there. The war being over in
April, 1865, the Government only desired our services after
that until the convalescents could obtain their discharge.
The physicians, however, requested us to remain until
all the sick were removed to the Soldiers' Home, or re-
turned to their own homes. I am happy to be able to
state that during our whole sojourn at Satterlee Hospital
there never was an unpleasant word between the physi-
cians or officers and the Sisters. The eve of our depart-
ure the executive ofiicer said to> me: "Sister, allow me
to ask you a question. Has there ever been any misun-
derstanding or dissatisfaction between the officers and
the Sisters since you came to this hospital?" I answered:
'Not at all.' 'Well,' he said, 'I will tell you why I asked.
The other evening we were at a party. The conversation
turned on the Sisters in the hospitals, and I said there
had never been a falling out between us at Satterlee —
that we were all on the same good terms as on the first
day we met. Some of the city hospital doctors said they
did not believe that forty women could live together with-

SATTERLEE HOSPITAL. 153

out disputing, mucli less that they could be among
such, a number of men without it.'

"Among the soldiers, who were of many nations,
there was a large number of Indians. In Ward 20 there
was a young Indian names James Wise, who was far
gone in consumption. The doctors thought he could not
live very many days. A Sister sent for Charles Corbin, an-
other Indian, who was in Ward U, to sjyeak to him of his
condition. Charley was a well-instructed Catholic, and
understood the French language, through which he com-
municated to Sister the dispositions of the poor sufferer,
who did not know that he had a soul, or that there was
a God. In fact, to use Charley's own words, 'he was a
perfect savage,' He would not listen to anything Charley
had to say, either in regard to the existence of a God or
the immortality of the soul. On leaving him for the night
Charley told Sister what little hope there was of his
conversion. But how mysterious are the ways of God!
On his return next morning he found him with very
different dispositions. The poor, sick one had had a
dream, which he relates as follows: He had thought he
saw our Lord coming toward him with a priest ready
to baptize him, thinking he was an infant and heaven
was open to receive him. This he described to Charley
as minutely as if he had seen the priest in reality, at
the same time requesting him to bring him to the chapel
to be baptized. The next time Father McGrane came
to say Mass Charley brought his 'poor little savage,' as
he still called him, although he was almost too weak to
walk, to the chapel. Here there followed a scene which
I must describe. Three interpretations were needed in

154 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD,

order to perform the ceremonies of administering the
Sacrament of Baptism. First Charley, who understood
the Indian language, interpreted it to Sister in French;
then Sister translated the French into English for Father
McGrane, who thus learned the desire of the kittle sav-
age,' the third in the circle. He lingered for two weeks
after his baptism and was interred in Cathedral Ceme-
tery. Since his death Charley has often expressed the
wish to be one day as happy as he believes him to be.
May he rest in peace.

"September 27.— Quite an excitement was created
about 2 o'clock on the 27th of September, caused by the
visit of Generals Sigel and Hammond. The former lost
a leg in one of the late battles of Gettysburg and has been
since that time under the care of the Sisters in Washing-
ton. He is now able to go about on crutches. Dr. Hayes,
with the principal surgeons, accompanied them in walk-
ing the circuit of the hospital. The patients, who were
all eager to see once more their good old generals, who
had stood by them so valiantly in the terrible engage-
ment, came out of the wards as best they could, many
of them also on crutches, and crowded in the corridors
to cheer and welcome them as they pasesd along. One
poor young lad, who was very sick, who Sister thought
would feel the privation of not being able to see them,
repied to her words of consolation: 'Do not feel sorry on
my account. I would any time rather see a Sister than
a general, for it was a Sister who came to see me when
I was unable to help myself, in an old barn near Gettys-
burg. She dressed my wounds and gave me drink, and
took care of me until I came here.' The poor boy is a
Protestant, and never saw a Sister before that time.

SATTEELEE HOSPITAL. 155

"Thanksgiving Day. — Quite an interesting little party
assembled in the laundry yesterday evening. The poor
laundresses have been so very generous for some time
past that Sister N. consented to let them have a little
party as soon as Sister Gonzaga v^ould return from St.
Joseph's, where she had been for the last two weeks.
They came quite early yesterday morning and hastened
to finish all their work by noon ; then washed and dressed
in all their finery, which they had brought with them
for the occasion. Sister N. arranged the tables, which
were covered with snow white cloths, upon which were
placed cakes, preserves, apples, candies, etc. In the
centre and at each end of the tables were placed hand-
some bunches of flowers. The pitchers looked like silver
and the knives and forks looked as if they had never been
used. The tea set was white — in fine, everything looked
nice, and our poor washwomen were delighted. At 4
o'clock Sister N. informed them that everything was in
readiness, and sent for Sister Gonzaga, who opened the
afternoon with a few remarks. The doctor, whose duty
it is to prescribe for them, was present. Two of the
patients who have violins had been previously requested
to come and play for them, and they, with the exception
of two or three small boys, were the only men present.
They danced until nearly 7 o'clock. The old women gave
us Irish jigs and reels to perfection, whUe the younger
ones danced cotillons. There was not a loud or unbe-
coming word spoken during the whole evening, and
they acted as nicely as might be expected from a better
class. They aU seemed weU pleased, and expressed their
thanks to the Sisters for honoring them with their pres-

156 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

ence. Sister Gonzaga said grace for them before taking
their places at supper, and afterward make a few pleasant
remarks, to which thej^ listened with the greatest re-
spect. The doctors then took their leave, after having
expressed their thanks to the Sisters for having allowed
them the favor of being present, which they considered
a great compliment. After supper one of the girls, in
the name of all, presented Sister Gronzaga with a large
cake, nicely frosted. She was obliged to accept it, else
she would have wounded their feelings. They then bade
us good night at a quarter to 8, and returned to their
humble homes, well pleased with their evening's enter-
tainment. I must not omit to tell you that they defrayed
the expense of all the refreshments themselves. Each
one contributed a little beforehand, for, of course, they
knew they could not have had it in any other way."

The hospital was one of the largest in the country,
and everything was arranged on a generous scale. It was
not the cause of any wonder, therefore, when the wounded
were brought in by the car-loads. Sister Gronzaga al-
ways recalled two events in the history of the institution
with particular distinctness ; the first was after the battle
of Bull Run and the second the day following the battle
of Gettysburg. After the battle of Bull Run the soldiers
were brought to the hospitals by the hundreds. The time
of the battle of Gettysburg there was a terrible period of
suspense for the people of Philadelphia. They only knew
in a general sort of way that a battle was taking place
perhaps somewhere in the neighborhood of the State
Capital,but they had no information regarding the result,
or who was the victor or vanquished. The earliest infer-

SAfTERLEE HOSPITAL. 157

mation came with the first consignment of wounded sol-
diers to the Satterlee Hospital. The sick and wounded
from the blood-stained field of Gettysburg did not come
by the dozen or by the car-load or by the hundred, but
by the thousands. One careful estimate puts the number
at four thousand. Such an emergency as this naturally
tested the capacity of the women in charge, but Sister
Gonzaga came through the ordeal with flying colors. The
surgeon in chief of the hospital was Dr. Isaac Hayes, who
achieved much fame by his connection with the celebrated
Kane Arctic exploring expedition, and who afterwardsy
headed an expedition of his own. The wards of the hos-
pital were very commodious and comfortable, each one
accommodating at least seventy-five beds.

Dr. Hayes was as a kind father to the Sisters, con-
sulting them upon everything that would contribute to
their comfort and happiness. Through the kind offices
of Dr. Hayes and Dr. Atlee they secured a chaplain. Father
Crane, who said Mass for them once a week. In the early
part of the war many of the wounded soldiers were taken
to St. Joseph's Hospital, where Sister Hillary was in
charge. The hospital was then located in a dwelling
house on Girard avenue, between Sixteenth and Seven-
teenth street. After the battle of Bull Run about sixty
soldiers were cared for at St. Joseph's Hospital. At the
same time St. Teresa's Church, of which the venerable
Hugh Lane is pastor, was temporarily used as a hospital
for wounded soldiers. The Sisters from Emmittsburg, as
detailed in the previous chapter, did much good service
after the fight at Gettysburg, going directly from their
mother house in Maryland to the scene of the battle.

There is an old and very rare print of the Satterlee

158 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Hospital still in existence. From this valuable documen-
tary evidence it is clear that the hospital occupied many
acres of ground. In order to reach the building it was
necessary to cross a bridge in the vicinity of South street.
In crossing this at the time the hospital was opened the
carriage containing a number of Sisters broke down and
they were compelled to walk the remainder of the distance.

During aU the time of the war Sister Gonzaga re-
mained in charge of St. Joseph's Asylum, which she
visited at regular intervals. At the close of the war she
returned to give her whole time to the Asylum ; the other
Sisters returning to their various missions.

Sister Gonzaga has had frequent visits from grateful
soldiers who were nursed back to life through her Chris-
tian devotion. One who- heard of her serious illness a
few years ago called, and then, as the outpouring of a
grateful heart, sent the following letter to the Philadel-
phia Evening Star as "A soldier's tribute to the noble
work of Mother Gonzaga during the war:"

"In your valuable paper dated yesterday the an-
nouncement was made that Mother Gonzaga, in charge
of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, southwest corner of Sev-
enth and Spruce streets, was lying dangerously ill. In
reciting her many acts of charity for the young orphans
under her care and protection, victims of epidemics, etc.,
during the many years of her life, you were not aware
that the short notice touched a tender chord of affection
in the breast of many a veteran of the late war.

"Mother Gonzaga was a mother of sixty thousand
soldiers, as patients under treatment in Satterlee United
States Army Hospital, Forty-fourth and Pine streets,
from 1862 until 1865. Those who were under her care,
no matter of what religion or creed, when they received
the midnight visits of Mother Gonzaga, her silent steps
after 'taps' and by the dim gaslight, will recognize her
familiar countenance surrounded by that white-winged
hood or cowl, just bending her form to hear the faint

SISTER MARY GONZAGA.

SATTERLEE HOSPITAL. 159

breath or whisper of some fever patient or some restless
one throwing off the bed clothes; she kindly tucking
them in around his body as a mother would a child ; then
a visit to the dying to give them expressions of comfort.
Those who recall these scenes I say think of her truly
as an angel of peace and sweetness.

"Administering medicine when required, loosening
a bandage or replacing the same, watching a case of a
sufferer in delirium — at all times annoying to those near
him — was her daily duty. To see her always calm, al-
ways ready, with modesty and fidelity, faithfully per-
forming a Christian duty as an administering angel
when physicians, surgeons, friends and all human aid
had failed, was a beautiful sight. No poet could de-
scribe, no artist could faithfully portray on canvas the
scenes at the deathbed of a soldier, that would convey
to those not having witnessed them the solemnity of the
quiet kneeling, the silent prayer, a murmur faintly heard
as a whisper, a Sister of Charity paying her devotion to
Him on high, and consigning the spirit of the dying sol-
dier to His care.

"As one of many thousands under her care I shall
always think of Mother Gonzaga as one of a constella-
tion of stars of the greatest magnitude — surrounded by
many others that were devoted servants, among whom I
would mention Dorothea Dix, Annie M. Ross, Hettie A.
Jones and Mary Brady. We soldiers cannot forget the
service they rendered.

"J. E. MacLane."

On the 12th of April, 1877, Sister Gonzaga celebrated
the occasion of her golden jubilee in the Sisterhood. On
the previous 19th of March she had attained her 50th
year in the community. On that day she received the
blessing of the Holy Father (Pope Pius IX), a gracious
act obtained for her at the suggestion of Rev. Father
Alizeri, C. M., a saintly man and a faithful missionary,
who has since gone to his reward. Bishops, priests, Sis-
ters and laymen vied with one another on this jubilee
occasion in showing the reverence and esteem in which
they held the simple religious woman who had gone about
doing good for so many years.

160 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Ten years later she was recalled to the mother house
a.t Emmittsburg by her superiors, who desired to relieve
her of her responsibility as the head of such a large insti-
tution. Born to obedience she promptly responded to
the order, and left the .house which had become as a home ;
left frieuds who had become endeared to her, and left
orphans who truly regarded her as a mother. There was
not a murmur from this woman who was being taken
away from associations with which she had been lovingly
and intimately connected for nearly half a century.

Her Philadelphia friends, without solicitation and
spontaneously and simultaneously, addressed petitions to
her superiors requesting her return to the scenes of her
life's labors. In the words of one who loved Sister Goii-
zaga, "Heaven was stormed by fervent prayers for the
return of the Mother of the Poor," She remained at Em-
paittsburg for sixteen months, and at the end of that time
returned to Philadelphia. Her home-coming on the 20th
of December, 1888, was made the occasion of a great de-
monstration. The Sisters, the orphans, the managers of
the asylum and a host of friends participated.

The actual extent of the good done by Sister Gonzaga
is scarcely realized by those who were about her. Many
of her charitable acts have been done quietly, even secret-
ly. There was one story with almost the pathos of a trag-
edy in which she was concerned. The daughter of an
estimable family went astray, and the parents in the first
violence of their anger and grief turned her out of the
house. A few months passed, and then their sober better
judgment coming to the surface they attempted to find
and forgive the child they had disowned. But they search-
ed in vain, and finally almost in despair turned to Sister

SATTEKLEE HOSPITAL. 161

Gonzaga. She had not the slightest clue to the missing
girl, but she pledged herself to bring her back. In a short
time she located the erring one in the insane ward of the
Philadelphia Hospital. She was a raving maniac. The girl
was restored to her remorseful parents, and by careful
nursing was gradually brought back to reason.

On another occasion when the Sister was missing for
an hour or so every day it was discovered that she was
in daily attendance on a poor woman who lay ill in a
small house in a street near by. Although this was
entirely foreign to her duties she regularly called and
washed and dressed the woman.

Sister Gonzaga departed this life on the morning of
October 8, 1897, in her room in St. Joseph's Orphan Asy-
lum in Philadelphia. A piece of crape, on top of
which was fastened a bit of immaculate white ribbon,
fluttered from the bell on the door of the asylum on that
day to inform the passer-by that this marvelous woman
had gone to receive her reward.

The obsequies of Sister Gonzaga took place on the
morning of Tuesday, October 12th. On the evening be-
fore this event countless numbers took a last farewell
of the devoted Sister. Hundreds of women and men
kissed her dead face as she lay in her coflin. They
kissed her hands, which held the Rosary, and about
which was twined the broad, purple ribbon of her
office as Superioress. Some of the women shed tears,
but the men seemed even more deeply affected.

On the morning of the funeral the body lay in state.
It was attired in the habit of the order, with a black
gown and the white headdress. Clasped in her hand
was a crucifix and rosary and a small roll of paper, on
which was written the vows that the deceased took

162 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

when entering upon her work.

The casket was heavily trimmed in silver, and upon
the lid was a plate containing this inscription: "Sister
Mary Gonzaga, died October 8, 1897, aged 85 years."
Near the top of the lid was a large silver cross, with a
figure of the crucifixion. Upon the head of Sister Gon-
zaga there reposed a golden-leaved crown, that was pre-
sented to her when she had been 50 years a Sister of
Charity.

There was a profusion of floral offerings tastefully
arranged about the head of the casket. In a prominent
place was a cross and crown from the "Children of
jMary," a society composed of former inmates of St. Jo-
seph's Orphan Asylum.

The body lay in the community room, beneath the
altar. Half a hundred Sisters of Charity were seated
along the side of the room. The entire apartment was
draped in black. By 10 o'clock, when the doors
were closed, several thousand persons had passed
around the casket. At length the hearse drew up before
the asylum, and eight students from St. Vincent's Sem-
inary carried the coflin out to the street. A long pro-
cession quickly formed and slowly the march to St.
Mary's Church was begun, the route being down Spruce
to Fourth and up Fourth. Arriving at the church the
eight theologians again acted as pall-bearers, and the
casket was carried up the aisle and placed in front of
the altar.

Among the mourners were the Board of Managers
of the institution. Sisters of Charity from various houses
of the order in Philadelphia and other cities. Sisters of
other orders, the Children of Mary, composed of those
who were formerly inmates of St. Joseph's Orphan Asy-

SATTEKLEE HOSPITAL 103

lum, numbers of them now mothers of families, and the
orphans at present at the home. In addition to these a
large congregation was present, which crowded the
church.

Solemn Requiem Mass celebrated by Very Rev. J.
A. Hartnett, C. M., of St. Vincent's Seminary, German-
town, who celebrated his first Mass at St. Joseph's Asy-
lum chapel. Rev. E. O. Hiltermann, rector of Holy
Trinity, was deacon; Rev. Edward Quinn, C. M., of Bal-
timore, sub-deacon, and Rev. John J. Duffy, master of
ceremonies. Mr. John F. Walsh, a seminarian, was
thurifer. Bishop Prendergast, who occupied a seat on
the Gospel side of the altar, was attended by Rev.
James O'Reilly, of Downingtown, and Rev. T. B. McGor-
mick, C. M., of St. Vincent de Paul's.

The sermon was delivered by Rev. John Scully, S. J.,
rector of St. Joseph's, who spoke in substance as follows:
"St. Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinth-
ians that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with
God, and in order that God may show to us that this is
so the same Apostle tells us that the base, the lowly
of this world and the contemptible hath God chosen
and the things that are not in order to confound the
things that are. How true in all ages have been these
inspired words of the Apostle! How true to-day. This
foolishness, this wisdom of the world, so foolish in the
eyes of God, differs in degree and kind in different ages.
In our age it shows itself in the attempt to divide hu-
man philanthropy and brotherly love from religion.
Take the intellect and culture of this great city in which
we live, and what does it lay down as law, except it be
that mankind must practice altruism, as they call it,
brotherly love, the civic virtue by which alone society
10

164 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

among men can be made possible, yet not one word
about the essential basis which even the modern pagan
sees is necessary. When talking about our rights they
say nothing of the rights of God, and when talking of
our obligations to one another they say nothing of our
obligations to God, without which nothing can rest on
a solid basis.

■'The wisdom of the world is foolishness. The low-
ly are chosen by God to confound the worldly wise. In
the days of old God raised David from the shepherd of a
flock to be the ruler of His people. Christ chose the
poor fishermen to be His Apostles. He called St. Vin-
cent de Paul from the lowly occupation of a shepherd
to be a wonder-worker, a marvel, a propagator of char-
ity, not only in his own days, but up to the present
time. How many millions of dollars are spent in the
spirit of modern philanthropy? For education, in order
to raise men up as they think, to give men a chance in
life. Because it is divided from religion it falls. The
late Mr. Vaux said on what was perhaps his last official
visit to the penitentiary : 'When I first came here I found
the children of the poor and the ignorant. Now I find
my own schoolmates.' Thus are spent millions in char-
ity, or rather in almsgiving, for It is not worthy to be
called charity. What is the result. It puffs up one with
pride and another with envy.

"The reason why the thing is done differently is the
motive under the acts of thousands and tens of thou-
sands who have given up their lives to works of char-
ity. Have you ever heard of a soldier wishing to become
a member of a church to which a trained nurse belonged?
How different when the motive is that of Jesus Christ.
It is the experience of thousands who beg to be al-

SATTERLEE HOSPITAL. 165

lowed to die in that religion of the devoted Sisters who
attended them, and it was this that caused a bishop to
receive a petition from a remote part of the diocese for
a priest to be sent there and a church built. He replied
that not only was he ignorant that so many Catholics
were there, but that there was even one Catholic. The
answer was, 'There are no Catholics here yet, but we are
men who were attended by the Sisters and we want to
be of the religion of the Sisters.' The base, ignoble and
contemptible things of this world has God chosen for
His work.

"What is more foolish in the eyes of the world;
what is more despised and held in contempt by the in-
tellectual and the cultured than poverty? Yet the Sis-
ters are bound by vows of poverty to be as poor as
Christ, to live a life of dependence, depending on one
another for their very food and raiment. What more
foolish in the eyes of the world than that! As the
wise man has said, they are a parable of reproach, looked
on with derision. Wliat is more foolish, more base, more
spiritless, more contemptible than to find women, ladies,
willingly binding themselves, not by impulse, but by
vocation, not as a mere whim, but perpetually to live
by rule, doing that to which no man ever yet got accus-
tomed, to purify their acts to make them meritorious in
the sight of God? And obedience! The world hates
and loathes obedience, yet our Divine Lord was obedient
even unto death, the death of the cross.

"What is the result of all the so-called charity and
philanthropy? Nothing lasting. Search the hearts of
thousands of men, women and children who have been
benefited by the Sisters and you will find there the love
of God.

166 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

"Such was the life of the devoted woman who spent
70 years doing good. Many philanthropists have monu-
ments raised to them and are looked upon as public
benefactors and honored as such. Take him or her who
was greatest among them, or all of them together, what
are all compared with a life such as hers, spent in the
care of the poor, sick and needy? One long life doing
good. A life not only an imitation of Jesus Christ in
its acts, but what is more necessary and more difficult,
a life in imitation of His motives. The world looks in
reproach upon such a life. How many times has she
been sneered at on the street in her poor dress and
strange bonnet ! How often has the world looked with
contempt on her that served the Lord so faithfully.
How He loved that soul that did as He did and for the
same reason. All I have said could be said of almost
any other Sister of Charity, but of her, who lived for
70 years in religion, how much could be said those only
can know who lived with her and knew her and loved her
the more they knew her. Of how few can this be said
— to have combined in one and the same person the power
of execution, the power of government, and at the same
time the spirit of kindness and of great-heartedness
which does not make commands ever necessary. With-
out emotion, without anger. No one ever saw that
kindly face ruffled. This is rare in the world — yes, even
rare in the religious life. To speak of her life and to
realize that thousands and tens of thousands of orphans
have had her care, many becoming mothers of families
and bringing up their children influenced by her example.
To realize her hard work in the military hospital, to
think of the thousands and tens of thousands dealt with
directly by her or indirectly through her as superioress.

SATTERLEE HOSPITAL. 167

What a world of welldoing! Seventy years in religion ;
85 years spent in the serving of Christ. What a won-
derful crown is won by her whose dead body is lying
here ! Seventy years a member of the community whose
very name is held even by the enemies of her faith as a
synonym of all that is good in humanity — something
which raises humanity and brings it close to God.

"Now the reign of sorrow and desolation has passed
away. She has gone forth from the scene of her labor
to her rest. She has gone into the sight of Jesus
Christ, whom in life she made her Friend. Not to meet
the severe face of a Judge, but the smiling countenance
of a dear friend. Who would recall her? Not those who
loved her most, who lived with her in community; not
those who were the recipients of her bounty. What so
glorious as a death such as hers after 70 years in God's
service. Says St. Hilary, 'Shall I fear to die after I have
served my Lord for 70 years?' So died she, because
she knew the good Master she served.

"As theologians tell us, God makes known to his
saints the needs of those whom they have left behind.
'Thou who knowest the needs of thy children be their
advocate and pattern now as ever in life. Be unto us
a mother and pray for us that we may go forth as thou
hast from this valley of affliction and tears to the sun-
shine of God the Father, to live forever with His Son,
our Lord, Jesus Christ."

The absolution of the body was performed by Bishop
Prendergast, assisted by the officers of the Mass. The
music was the Gregorian chant, with the introit, offer-
tory, communion and "Benedictus" in harmony. This
was rendered by the students of St. Vincent's Semi-
nary, Germantown. From among them were chosen the

168 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

pall-bearers also. The prominent part taken in the ser-
vices by the Congregation of the Mission was due to the
fact that St. Vincent de Paul, its founder, was also
founder of the Sisters of Charity.

Eleanor C. Donnelly, the gifted Philadelphia poet-
ess, has written the following verses in memory of Sister
Gonzaga and inscribed them to Sister Mary Joseph and
her community, with alfectionate sympathy:

Thrice in the rounding of one little year,

Saint Mary's hallowed temple hath revealed
An honored priest reposing on his bier,

His pallid lips in icy silence sealed.

Thrice, have regretful tears bedewed the urn
I Where sacerdotal ashes were enshrined;

Youth, age and ripen'd manhood, each in turn,
. Unto Saint Mary's funeral vaults consigned.*

And now, before the fading flow'rs have strown
Their last, sweet, withered petals round the place;

Or early snows lie white upon the stone
That shuts from sight each well-remembered face —

Before the shades of the anointed Dead
Have melted from Saint Mary's aisles away,

We hear once more the mourner's solemn tread —
Another saint is here in death, to-day!

Dear Sister Gonzaga! good mother, friend
Of Christ's own little ones — His precious poor!

From Life's beginning to its blessed end
Thy Words were Wisdom's, and thy works were pure.

In tender youth, betrothed to thy Lord;

For three-score years and ten His faithful spouse,
He was thine aim— thy solace — thy reward —

Bound to His Sacred Heart by deathless vows!

*Rev. Hugh J. McManus, December, 1896; Rev. Eugene J. Bardet,
March, 1897; Right Rev. Mgr. Toner, September, 1897.

SATTERLEE HOSPITAL. 169

Toiler of yore with Kenrick, Neuman, Wood,

One of our Faith's first local pioneers!
So long hath been thy serdce, and so good,

Thou needest not our prayers or pitying tears!

For death Is gain to thee, tho' lose to all
Thou leavest here. Thy prayers must plead for them.

The orphans' tears that sparkle on thy pall
Shall prove on high thy brightest diadem.

The dear old heart that loved them now is stilled,
The dear old voice they loved is heard no more;

She waits afar with ardent yearning filled
To bid them welcome to the eternal shore!

Prate not of sculp tur'd immortality —
Her children's virtues shall her heart content

If all who look upon their lives shall see
In each their Mother's lasting monument.

The old-time friends may leave us, one by one.
The ancient landmarks swiftly fade away^

The good that Sister Gonzaga hath done
Shall live when brass and marble both decay!

Then lay her gently down, in peace and trust,

Where angel-memories shall guard her bed;
Her soul is with her God; her virgin dust

Sleeps sweetly with Saint Mary's sainted dead!
October 12, 1897. ELEANOR C. DONNELLY.

Sister Gonzaga had a countenance of great benign-
ity and firmness. A high forehead, a kindly mouth and
eyes which even age was not able to dim. She was ever
a model of graciousness and good breeding. The effects
of a good education were visible, and the results of a
well-balanced and well-trained mind seen in a remark-
ably accurate and strong memory. The story of her
life is well worth the telling, serving as it does as a

170

ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

model and incentive for those who would be successful
in their chosen vocation.

This chapter upon Sister Gronzaga cannot be con-
cluded better than by the presentation of the roster of
Sisters of the Satterlee Hospital (1). On the 9th of June,
1862, it was as follows:

1. Sister Mary Gonzaga Grace, 47. Sister Angeline Reilly.

Superioress. 48. Sister Gabriella McCarthy.

2. Sierter Mary Louis.

3. Sister Louise Collins.

4. Sister Ann Joseph Doug-herty.

5. Sister Josephine Keleher.

6. Sister Ann Marie Boniface.

7. Sister Clare McGerald.

8. Sister Mary Cremen.

9. Sister Augustine Valentine.

10. Sister Dolores Smith.

11. Sister Mary Xavier Lucet.

12. Sister Angela Mahony.

13. Sister Maria Noonan.

14. Sister Catharine Harty.

15. Sister Edna Heney.

16. Sister Margaret Hepp.

17. Sister Phillippa Connelly.

18. Sister Delphine Wivelle.

19. Sister Neri Matthews.

20. Sister Onesime.

21. Sister Teresa McKenna-

22. Sister Aloysia Daley.

23. Sister Stella Moran.

24. Sister Elizabeth Freze.

25. Sister Adeline Byrnes.

49. Sister Petronilla Breen.
•50. Sister Amie Dougherty.
51. Sister Marcella Finnigan.
52 Sister Frances Griffin.

53. Sister Mary Josephine Gamel.

54. Sister De Chantal Coetello.

55. Sister Mary Eliza Dougherty.

56. Sister Dionysia O'Keefe.

57. Sister Cecelia Groell.

1863.

58. Sister Euphrasia Mattingly.

59. Sister Mary Martha Lynch.

60. Sister Mary Harmer.

61. Sister Mary Bernard Farrell.

62. Sister Ann Teresa Roche.

63. Sister Amelia Davis.

64. Sister Severina Relihan.

65. Sister Rosalie Benligny.

66. Sister Irene McCourt.

67. Sister Clementine McCaffery.

68. Sister Felicita Puis.

69. Sister Cornelia McDonnell

70. Sister Agnes Weaver.

71. Sister Euphrasia Wittenanes.

(1.) Fcr this valuable list of names the author ia indebted to
an admirable article from the sympathetic pen of Sara Trainor
Smith in the Records of the American Catholic Historical Society.

SATTEELEE HOSPITAL.

171

26. Sister Eleanora Tyler. 72.

27. Sister Vincent Saunders.

28. Sister Mary Joseph Sinnott. 73.

29. Sister Magdalen Groell. 74.

30. Sister Cletilda Welty.

31. Sister Pacifica Ulrich. 75.

32. Sister AJphonsa McNichols. 76.

33. Sister Annie O'Leary. 77.

34. Sister Mary Laurence Kane, 78.

35. Sister Felix McQuaid. 79.
3G. Sister Mary Bernard Moore. 80.

37. Sister Henrietta. 81.

38. Sister Alix Merceret. 82.

39. Sister Martha Moran. 83.

40. Sister Mary Jane Douglass. 84.

41. Sister Mary Alice Delahunty. 85.

42. Sister Vincentia Waltzing. 86.

43. Sister Martina Tragesser.

44 Sister Marie Mulkern. 87.

45. Sister Julia Fitzgerald. 88.

46. Sister Loretta McGee. 89.

Sister Ann Maria Shaughon-

essy.
Sister Generosa Foley.
Sister Julia Sheehan.

1864.
Sister Genevieve Kavenaugh.
Sister Celestine Adelsberger.
Sister Bernardine Farrell.
Sister Josephine Edelen.
Sister Antonia Asmuth.
Sister AJphonsa McBride.
Sister Catharine McQuaid.
Sister Clara Doyle.
Sister Eloise Lacroix.
Sister Ann Joseph Cummin.
Sister Francis McDonald.
Sister Mary Xavier Vendrome.

1865.
Sister Genevieve Garvey.
Sister Agnes McDermott.
Sister Sylveria O'Neill.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE FALL OF RICHMOND.

Preparing for the close of the war. Sisters of Charity in the West enlisted
in the military prison at Alton. Smallpox cases removed to an island
in the Mississippi. Leaders of the Southern Confederacy realize that
their cause is lost. Scenes of wild excitement in Richmond. Blessings
for the Sisters.

General Grant, who had been laying siege to Vieks-
burg, had captured that stronghold on the Fourth of July,
1863. Then came the surrender of Fort Hudson and the
battles of Ghickamauga, Lookout Moun-
tain and Missionary Ridge.

Grant in 1864 was made Lieutenant-

General and placed in command of all the

armies of the United States. Early in

May he led the Army of the Potomac

across the Rapidan toward Richmond. For

six weeks he tried to get between Lee's

army and Richmond without success. In

this fruitless effort he fought the battles

of the Wilderness, North Anna, Bethesda

Church and Cold Harbor, losing 40,000 men. Then he

moved his whole army south of the James and laid siege

to Petersburg.

The burning of Chambersburg by the Confederates
(172)

FALL OF KICHMOND. 173

and the valor of General Sheridan in the Shenandoah Val-
ley, with Admiral Farragut's achievements at sea, com-
pleted the notable events of 1864.

In the fall of 1864 Sherman began his march to the
sea, which was unique in modem warfare, and was com-
pletely successful. The last campaign began in the spring
of 1865. On April 1, 1865, Petersburg was evacuated, the
Union Army entered Richmond on the 2d. On the 9th of
April came the surrender of Lee to Grant at Appomattox,
which was the practical end of the war. Long before this
the Sisters of Charity felt that their work was drawing
to a close. In the meantime, however, their services were
being utilized in the West. Colonel Ware, who was then
in command of the prisons of that section, applied to the
Bishop of Alton, 111., for the Sisters of Charity to attend
the prisoners at Alton. Accordingly, Bishop Yonker ap-
plied to the Sister servant of St. Philomena's School, St.
liouis. One of the Sisters was at that time in St. Louis
at the Gratiot State Prison Hospital. She received a dis-
patch from Father Burlando to go to Alton and take with
her three Sisters. They started early the next morning,
March 15, 1864, and reached Alton in twenty-four hours.
There they were met by Father Harty, who conducted
them to the residence of a gentleman, a member of the
City Council.

Colonel Ware soon called to see them and accom-
panied them to the prison, which had been formerly called
the Illinois State Penitentiary. It had been vacated be-
fore the war for a more commodious and healthy locality.
Before reaching the main entrance the Sisters had to as-
cend a very rugged road, well protected by guards. Here
a residence would have been provided for them, but they

174 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

did not think it safe or prudent to accept it. They passed
through the yard, which was crowded with prisoners,
numbering four thousand Confederates and one thousand
Federals, the latter being confined there for desertion
and through follies committed in camp. The two parties
were separated, except in the hospital. The poor sick were
so delighted to see the Sisters that they could scarcely
contain themselves.

It is said that the men died in this hospital at the rate
of from six to ten a day. The place was too small for the
number of inmates, who were all more or less afflicted with
diseases. Some were wounded, other a prey to despon-
dency, typhoid fever and the smallpox; consequently the
atmosphere of the prison was very foul. Fortunately the
smallpox cases were removed to an island in the Missis-
sippi as soon as discovered. The Sisters made arrange-
ments with Colonel Ware to visit the sick twice a day.
As there were no accommodations for the Sisters to re-
main in the prison they returned to the residence of Coun-
cilman Wise, who had so kindly received them in the
morning. He could not accommodate them, but procured
lodgings for them in the house of his sister, where they
remained for nearly six weeks. On their return to the
prison the next day the Sisters found written orders from
the Government. They also met there the attending phy-
sicians, who appeared glad to see them and said that
they hoped soon to see an improvement in the condition
of the sufferers, who had been heretofore much neglected.
The Sisters were informed that four of the patients had
died during the previous night. A place was alloted to
them to prepare drinks and nourishment for the sick.
It was an old workshop, and the floors were in such a

FALL OF RICHMOND. 175

condition that the Sisters were continually in danger of
falling through. The attendants, who were prisoners,
were exceedingly kind and obliging, so much so that they
would even anticipate the wishes of the Sisters.

Two weeks had scarcely elapsed before the sick began
to improve. The doctors acknowledged a change for the
better, saying that there were fewer deaths, and that
despondency had nearly disappeared. A look of com-
miseration or a word of encouragement soon made these
poor victims feel that they were cared for at least by the
lowly children of St. Vincent. The Sisters visited the
Federal Guards Hospital and the smallpox island hospital
at the request of Colonel Ware. They visited the Federal
Guards Hospital once a day and the smallpox island hos-
pital once a week, but even that consoled the poor patients,
as the Sisters provided them with delicacies and nourish-
ment they mostly craved.

On the 1st of May the Sisters took possession of a
house belonging to St. Joseph's, Emmittsburg, that had
been previously occupied as a school, but was then va-
cated. They were now one mile distant from the prison,
and an ambulance was sent daily to convey them to and
fro.

On July 1 they were notified that their services were
no longer required at the prison. They could do nothing
until the superiors were acquainted with their situa-
tion. Meanwhile the citizens were anxious to have them
remain in Alion and convert their house into a hospital.
They soon received a letter from the venerated Mother
Ann Simeon, giving permission to open a civil hospital
for the citizens of Alton. One of the Sisters was sent to

176 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

St Joseph's Hospital, Alton, to wait on tlie sick and
wounded soldiers from the battle of Winchester. There
was one man in the ward who was nicknamed "Blue
Beard," from his ferocious manners and large mustache.
He would never ask for anything nor take anything of-
fered to him. One day when he was being urged to take
some nourishment he replied:

"Sister, I do not wish for anything that you have.
There is only one thing, and that I do not think you can
procure for me."

The Sister inquired what it was and assured him that
if it were in her power she would get it for him. He then
replied :

"Sister, I should like to have a lily. I think it would
do me so much good."

The wish was a strange one, nevertheless she at once
determined to gratify him, which the kindness of a friend
enabled her to do. This little act of kindness was not
without effect, and from that time the man had a high
regard for the Sisters.

At the termination of the war, in 1865, the prisoners
received their discharge. It was sad to see the streets of
the city lined with the ragged and distressed looking men.
The sick were brought to St. Joseph's Hospital, which
was soon filled. The Sisters gave the soldiers the very
best attention and consideration, and within a few months
the majority of the men were enabled to return to their
homes and families.

The little band of Sisters who had been laboring in
Frederick City, Md., from 1862 to 1864 certainly did their
share in caring for helpless humanity. They were kept

FALL OF BiCHMOND. 177

actively employed in Frederick City during the summer
and autumn of 1862, They found then that their work
was not nearly done. The winter set in with heavy rains
and deep snow, to which they were constantly exposed. The
poor patients had likewise much to suffer from the badly
constructed buildings. The wind, rain and snow pene-
trated through the crevices, leaving the poor men in a
most uncomfortable condition. This was called to the
attention of the chief surgeon, who immediately gave or-
ders for the dilapidated barracks to be repaired as much
as possible.

Some of the soldiers were quite amusing with their
grateful intentions. A Sister was asked one day whether
she ever wore any other color but gray or black, "for," he
continued, ''I wish to present Sister Agnes with a new
dress ; she has been so truly good to me."

The soldiers seemed to have the greatest confidence
in the Sisters, whose advice they preferred before that
of the physicians. General Hunter had now received
command of the Shenandoah Valley. He visited the hos-
pital and issued an order that all the prisoners should
be placed by themselves in separate barracks entirely
apart from the Union men. Soon after the United States
surgeon in charge of the hospital inspected all the bar-
racks and found one filled with Confederates and with
no Sister to take charge of them. The sufferings of these
poor men touched him so much that he immediately went
to the Sister servant and requested her to send a Sister
from a ward of the Union soldiers to take care of the Con-
federates. The patience of these poor sufferers was the
admiration of all. A worthy clergyman once remarked

178 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

that in Ms visits to the hospital he was always editied
by their resignation. He said he had never heard the
least murmur escape their lips, and commenting upon
Jthis he remarked: "I think the intensity of their pain,
both mentally and physically, might, if offered in unison,
pxpiate the sins of their whole life."

About this time the leaders of the Southern Con-
federacy began to realize that the clouds were gathering
about them and that their cause was hanging in the bal-
ance, if indeed it was not already destined to failure.
They resolved to concentrate their hospital facilities in
and around the city of Richmond, Va. The Sisters who
had been doing work upon the various battlefields in the
South were summoned to the Southern Capital . The Sis-
ters had served at Harper's Ferry, Manassas, Antietam,
Fredericksburg and White House, Va

Those who were located in Richmond at this time
began to feel "in their bones" that the fall of the
city was imminent. They were right. The long expected
event occurred in April, 1865. Jefferson Davis, the Presi-
dent of the Southern Confederacy, was at worship in an
Episcopal church when he was handed a telegram telling
him that Richmond must be evacuated. He presented a
calm exterior, but bad news is hard to conceal, and the ex-
act situation was soon noised about the city. The wildest
excitement prevailed. Men, women and children rushed
hither and thither, knowing not what to do or where to
go. Finally their frenzy assumed a decisive shape and a
general evacuation of the city began. The Sisters, who
constituted the calmest portion of the population, looked
on the scene with mild amazement.

FALL OF RICHMOND. 179

The Cit}^ Councils met and with the general interests
of the people in view determined to destroy all the liquor
in Richmond. This work was begun at midnight and
before the first gray streaks of dawn revealed the terror-
stricken city to the public gaze the streets and gutters
were running with veritable lakes of whisky, wine and
beer. Many of the soldiers and some of the residents
balked the good intentions of the Councils by drinking
the liquor, and then scenes of drunken revelry were added
to the general confusion. Thieves broke loose, houses
were robbed, public buildings were fired and bridges
leading from the city were destroyed.

Notwithstanding the foresight of the authorities on
the coming defeat, its arrival was most appalling. Medical
stores, commissary departments and other houses were
thrown open. The city was troubled from the blowing
up of the gunboats in the river. The Sisters were pre-
paring to go to Mass early in the morning when sud-
denly a terrific explosion stunned, as it were, the power
of thought. The noise of the breaking of windows in the
hospitals and neighboring buildings added greatly to the
alarm. The Sisters soon learned that the Confederates
had blown up their supplies of powder which were very
near the hospital buildings; then followed an explosion
of all the Government buUdings.

After the surrender a Federal officer rode up to the
door of the Sisters' house and told them they were per-
fectly safe, their property would be respected and that
he would send a special guard to protect their house. No
resistance was shown to the Union troops. The city was
placed under military rule and Greneral G. F. Shepley made

11

180 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Governor. One thousand prisoners were found in the
city and five thousand siclc and wounded were in the
hospitals. The prisoners were set free end the Sisters
with joy hailed the peace that was once again to dawn on
a blood-washed land. They remained in Richmond until
the sick and wounded were able to quit the hospitals and
then returned home to Eramitsburg, followed by the grati-
tude and blessings of the men of both armies.

The soldiers who were in the Washington hospitals
also returned to their homes impressed with the kindest
feelings toward the Sisters. The ofificers and doctors all
concurred in expressing unlimited confidence in them.
Printed placards were hung in all the wards, reading:
"All articles for the use of the soldiers here are to be
placed in the care of the Sisters of Charity, as also papers,
books and clothing."

Early in the summer of 1865 the Sisters took their
departure and the hospital was permanently closed. An-
other hospital in Washington began its operations in
March, 1865, and closed in October of the same year. The
Sisters were placed in charge, and, since their customs and
calling were known, did not experience as much annoy-
ance as in the beginning of the war.

The house was well filled with the sick and wounded.
During the month of July the Jesuit Fathers were giving
a jubilee at their church in the city of Washington and
many of the convalescents attended.

The oflicers of the hospital expressed much gratitude
for all that had been done by the Sisters. The first sur-
geon was at a loss to know how to put his satisfaction
into words, saying that the Sisters of Charity had mar-

FALL OF RICHMOND. 181

velously lessened the cares of the physicians and sur-
geons in all of the hospitals in which they served

This concludes the story of the work done by the
Sisters of Charity of Emmittsburg from the beginning
to the close of the war. While they were at work, how-
ever, the Sisters belonging to branches of the order and
to other orders were not idle, as will be seen by the chap-
ters that follow.

CHAPTER XVII.

SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH.

Bishop Spalding sends a letter to General Anderson tendering the services
of the Sisters. The offer accepted and the volunteers assigned to work
in the hospitals in and around Louisville. "Oh, Sister, put your head
down by me and don't leave me." The martyrdom of Sister Mary Lucy.
Tender-hearted soldiers keep a vigil around the coffin with blazing torches
made of pine knots.

The main body of the Sisters of Charity were not
alone in their devotion to the sick and wounded soldiers.
During the trying days between 1861 and 1865 no body
of men or women did more for suffering
humanity than the patient, zealous Sis-
ters of Charity of Nazareth, then, as
now, of Bardstown, Kentucky. A score
of Sisters in that community offered
themselves and their services without
pay and without hope of earthly reward
of any character. It was in the spring
of 1861, the opening year of the civil
war, that Bishop Martin John Spalding
sent a formal communication to General
Robert Anderson, of Fort Sumter fame,
then in command of the Department of Ken-
tucky, tendering the services of the Sisters of Char-

(182)

SISTEES OF CHAEITY OF NAZARETH. 183

ity of Nazareth to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers.
Their services were willingly accepted, and the under-
standing was that the Sisters were to work in the hos-
pitals in and around Louisville.

Three large manufacturing establishments in the
city of Tx)uisville had been placed at the service of the
Government and were being used as hospitals at that
time. The rooms were long, and lines of cots extended
along each side. The hospitals were divided into sections
and each section was placed under the watchful charge
of a Sister of Charity. The system that characterized the
three establishments was such that no sufferer was neg-
lected or without a nurse. This was in striking con-
trast with the disorder and lack of system that had pre-
vailed prior to the advent of the Sisters. There were
twenty-three Sisters in the three hospitals, in charge of
an army surgeon, and they worked faithfully from their
entrance into the hospitals until the close of the war,
without a cent of compensation.

There had been one battle and several severe skir-
mishes in Kentucky about that time, and when the Sis-
ters arrived at the hospitals the scene was enough to
briUj^ tears into the eyes of the most hardened. A great
many Confederates had been captured and were being
held as prisoners of war. Within the walls of the hos-
pitals hundreds of Union men and Confederates lay
groaning in a common agony. Those that were not mor-
tally wounded and that had not submitted to the ampu-
tation of a leg or an arm were raving in the worst forms
of fever or had contracted erysipelas, pneumonia and kin-
dred ailments. About it all there was a heroism that was
touching, and as the Sisters passed from cot to cot many

184 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

a soldier suffering with a shattered limb or bullet-pierced
body lifted his wan face and gave forth a smile of wel-
come and of recognition.

The Sisters soothed the restless patients, bathed the
fevered brows and moistened the parched lips "with a
touch impartially tender." The attitude of the men them-
selves was not without interest. Many of them had never
seen a Sister before; the majority of them looked upon
the Sisters with distrust and suspicion. The change that
came in a short while came as actual knowledge comes
when it dissipates prejudice and misrepresentation. They
could not help but be impressed with the quiet demeanor
and the self-sacrifice of the Sisters, and unreasoning dis-
like and bigotry soon gave way to natural respect and es-
teem.

But the beauty of the Sisters' lives, their habit of
thinking of all but themselves, had its effect upon many
a hardened sinner. Five hundred men died in "hospital
number one," and of that number only one passed away
seemingly indifferent to his future.

An incident told by one of the surviving Sisters car-
ries a moral with it. One of the soldiers in the hospital, a
Catholic, refused to do anything for the benefit of his soul.
His end seemed to be approaching and he was trans-
ferred to some other place, where he could be reasoned
into submission and repentance. A man who occupied
a cot near that of the unrepentant Catholic had heard the
Sisters pleading with him. He listened with a thoughtful
manner, and when the hard hearted man had been re-
moved, called a Sister to his side. He begged to be fur-
ther instructed in the Catholic faith. His request was
mraplied with, he was baptized, confessed, received Holy

SISTEKS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH. 185

Communion and finally died a most holy and edifying
death.

The parish priests of Louisville and several of the
Jesuit Fathers paid regular visits to the hospitals. Each
priest came on an average of three times a day, but there
was not a moment during the day or night when a priest
was not within easy call. The Sisters by their forethought
and intelligeuce made the work of the clergy comparative-
ly easy. A man who desired to be baptized was prepared
by the Sisters and ready when the priest arrived. Those
to whom it was necessary to administer the last rites of
the Church were gradually brought to realize the im-
portance of these rites by these same Sisters. So it was
from day to day, from week to week, from month to month.
The Sisters were unflagging in their devotion to the men
in their charge. They nursed, they prayed, they con-
soled, in fact, as more than one grateful soldier exclaimecl,
proved themselves little short of earthly angels.

A pathetic scene took place one day in "hospital num-
ber two." A young soldier, a Catholic and a Scotchman,
lay on his death-bed, far from home and family and coun-
try, but surrounded by all the loving devotion of the Sis-
ters. He knew that his end was at hand and had been
prepared by all of the sacred rites of the Church for his
journey into the great unknown. He was slowly expiring
from a fatal wound and was unable to move.

In a feeble voice he asked the Sister to hand him a
package of letters that he had read over and over again,
and which he always kept in view. They were given him
and he read them over once again and for the
last time. After that he selected several from the
package and placing them close to his heart said

186 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

slowly, but distinctly: "Sister, leave them here un-
til I am dead. That will not be long. Then send
them to my father and mother in Scotland. TeU them that
I thought of them until the last. Get the money that is
coming to me. Give some of it for Masses for an offering
for my soul and forward the remainder to my parents.
Now I am ready to die. Good-bye." With a famt smile he
closed his eyes and in a short time the spirit had fled from
his youthful body. The instructions were carried out to
the letter, as were the last wishes of aU the dying soldiers
whenever it was possible and practicable. One of the
most important tasks of the Sisters was to write to the
near relatives of the deceased, giving accounts of their
last moments and delivering entrusted messages from the
dying.

On more than one occasion the Sisters supplied the
place of a mother to the wounded and the dying. Many a
pathetic death-bed scene is stiU fresh in the memory of the
now venerable Sisters who have survived those trying
times. They were able to repress their emotions in most
cases, but there were times when nature asserted itself,
and the tears of compassion flowed freely. This was es-
pecially the case when drummer boys and buglers — mere
children — were brought into the hospitals. In such cases
aU the tenderness of the Sisters' gentle natures went out
in abundance to the wounded "lambs," as they delighted to
call the young ones. One day three blue-eyed, fair-haired
lads in soldier attire were brought into "hospital number
one." They were ill of typhoid pneumonia and they
were in an advanced stage, too. They were placed on cots
side by side and there they lay for days, uncomplaining
and innocent, giving expression to the quaintest thoughts

SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH. 187

in the most childish way. They were like brothers, al-
though they were not, and all three were of about the
same height and age. The gratitude they expressed to the
Sisters was more by their manner than anything they
said.

One afternoon one of the three looked up at the Sister
who was nursing him, and with a wistful look in his blue
eyes exclaimed : "Oh, you are such a good lady ; just like
my mother to me." In spite of the care that was lavished
on them the three little heroes died, as so many heroes
have died — unknown, unhonored and unsung. In the
same room another lad of twelve or thirteen, whose life
was fast ebbing away, cried out: "Oh, Sister, put your
head right down by me and don't leave me." The request
was complied with, and the little feUow clasped the Sister
about the neck and never let go his hold until grim death
relaxed it soon afterward. Who could look on such scenes
unmoved ! Many boys died thus. Death seemed to pluck
the choicest and freshest of the earth to make its bouquets
during those four fearful years. The Sisters' care of
their "lambs" after their death was as tender and reveren-
tial as it had been in life. Their eyes were closed with a
prayer, their silken locks parted and their little hands
folded as if in supplication to the Divine mercy. Who can
doubt but what the blessings of heaven were showered
upon these innocent, heroic souls?

The Sisters were "always on duty," and sometimes the
duty was more severe than at others. After great battles,
such as Shiloh, the hospitals were hardly able to accommo-
date the hundreds that were brought there. When the
orderlies had performed the first essential service for the
newcomer he would be taken in charge by the Sisters.

188 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Kefreshing draughts and nourishing food were inter
mingled with the remedies that would be administered
from time to time. The ladies of Louisville were frequent
visitors at the hospitals, and they brought many delicacies
for the sick and the wounded. At length near the close of
the war the Sisters were recalled to their home from the
Louisville hospitals. The recall came none too soon for
the survivors, as they stood much in need of rest and
change of air. For nearly three years they had been con-
fined in the close wards of the three hospitals, and this not
unnaturally had its effect upon their health. Many of
them overestimated their strength and their powers of en-
durance. Some died in the hospitals, others soon after, at
a prematui-e age.

The actual number of Catholic Sisters who laid dowD
their lives during the civil war, that their fellow-creatures
might live, will probably never be known, but there is no
question that hundreds did so. Their names are not cut
upon any earthly monuments, but they are surely emblaz-
oned in letters of gold in the great book of the Recording
Angel. The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, as Mother
Carroll could have testified, furnished their full quota of
fair martyrs. Many instances have been lost in the long
number of years that have elapsed since the closing of the
war, but several well-authenticated cases still linger
freshly in the minds of those that were witnesses of the
great struggle. One of these is particularly pathetic.
Sister Mary Lucy, one of the sweetest young members of
the Order, richly endowed by nature, was one of the
teachers in St, Mary's Academy, at Paducah. When the
exigencies of war compelled the temporary abandonment
of this institution. Sister Mary Lucy volunteered as one

SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH. 189

of tlie hospital nurses. She was assigned, to some of the
severest typhoid cases, and the manner in which she
nursed these patients won for her the unqualified praise of
the hospital doctors and attendants.

The post of honor in this instance proved to be the
post of danger. Sister Mary Lucy contracted the fever
from one of her patients who was convalescent. This was
in the latter part of December, during the first year of the
war. Despite the best medical attention she rapidly grew
worse, until December 29, when she expired as calmly and
heroically as she had lived. Her death cast a gloom over
the entire hospital, and the soldiers of both armies were
filled with admiration and awe at the martyrdom of this
gentle soul. They determined that she should be honored
in death as she ha;d been in life, and that her final obse-
quies should be of a character befitting her great merits.

Several files of soldiers marched with muffled drums
and noiseless tread from the Central Hospital to the Ohio
Kiver, bearing in the midst of them the remains. There
the coffin was placed in a gunboat in waiting, which had
been especially designated for this service. Then the boat
slowly steamed away, bearing its honored burden under a
flag of truce to Uniontown, Ky. On landing, the remains
were borne to St. Vincent's Academy, some miles distant,
where the Sisters own a considerable tract of land and
where they have a last resting place for their dead. Father
Powers, at that time pastor of the Catholic Church at
Paducah, said the Solemn Mass of Requiem and accom-
panied the body to the grave and recited over it the last
offices of the Church, of which the deceased had been such
an exemplary member. A guard of devoted soldiers
watched by the cofQn day and night from the time it left

190 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

the Central Hospital until the earth covered it from mor-
tal view. At night the tender-hearted warriors kept their
vigil around the coffin with blazing torches made of pine
knots. Sister Mary Lucy was born in the vicinity of the
spot where she was buried. She received her education at
St. Vincent's Academy, became a Daughter of Charity and
died in the performance of her duty. This is the short but
brilliant life history of one heroic woman.

A letter dated Louisville, February 1, 1862, written by
one of the army surgeons to Mother Francis Gardner, con-
tained the following announcement : "I regret very much
to have to inform you of the death of Sister Catherine at
the General Hospital in this city. She, as well as the
other Sisters at the hospital, has been untiring and most
efficient in nursing the sick soldiers. The military au-
thorities are under the greatest obligations to the Sisters
of your Order."

Still another conspicuous loss was soon to be felt in
the death of Sister Appollonia, the directress of "No. 1
Hospital," She served long and faithfully in this post and
won warm commendation from stern soldiers, who, what-
ever else their faults, were never guilty of flattery. She
was a woman of great executive ability, and was instru-
mental in causing order to come out of chaos in the hos-
pital over which she presided. Her zeal was great. Not
content to direct affairs, she also nursed individual cases.
It was while engaged in this work that she contracted
typhoid fever, from which she soon after died. She had
endeared herself to the soldiers by her kind and motherly
treatment of them, and her death caused universal regret.

The manner in which the Sisters were treated by the
soldiers had in it a blending of the humorous and the sub-

SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH. 191

lime. Those of the Sisters that live to tell the tale say
that nothing was wanting in the courtesy with which they
were invariably considered by the men of both armies. On
Sundays they were given especial consideration.
They were escorted to Mass by a military guard of honor,
and received the military salute in passing to and
fro in the neighborhood of the hospital and the camps.
Some of the invalid soldiers imagined that every Sister
carried a charm about her, and was thus protected from
the contagious diseases that caused such sad havoc among
the men. But the supposed charms were not always suc-
cessful in preventing the Sisters from wearing the
martyr's crown in death. The only charms they carried,
as the soldiers soon discovered, were blameless lives, abso-
lute devotion to duty and entire self-forgetfulness.

There was one modest institution near the three large
hospitals in Louisville where a great amount of good was
done in an unostentatious manner. This was St. Joseph's
Infirmary, conducted by the Sisters of Charity of Naza-
reth. This was generally filled in war times with wounded
o£Bcers and other invalids connected with both armies.
The good done there, though not quite as conspicuous as
elsewhere, was lasting, and bore fruit in after years.

CHAPTER XVIII.

MORE ABOUT NAZARETH.

Bardstown occupied successively by the Union and the Confederate troops.
Six Sisters start for Lexington under a flag of truce. A courteous letter
from Brigadier-General Wood. Ex-Secretary of State Guthrie applies to
President Lincoln for protection to the Nazareth Convent. A brief
sketch of a famous school and some of its distinguished graduates.

Bardstown, three miles distant from Nazareth
Academy, in Nelson County, Ky., was occupied succes-
sively by the Union and the Confederate armies. Some

hostile engagements had taken
place in the vicinity of the
town and in the neighboring
counties, and as a result the
place was kept in a state of
^S£i''^'k. ^- Z"' "^ W^S feverish anxiety. The victor-
ies and the defeats were at-
tended with the usual result, killed and wounded men and
sickness and suffering on all sides. Here again the peace-
ful aid of the Sisters came at an opportune time. Fully
aware of the great need there was for experienced nurses,
the Mother in charge of Nazareth sent a devoted band of
Sisters to the Baptist Female College in Bardstown, which
had been temporarily fitted up for hospital uses. On their
arrival they found that they had to care for a large number

(192)

MOEE ABOUT NAZARETH. 193

of disabled Confederate soldiers. They quickly began
their humane work and carried it to a successful comple-
tion. The Confederates were on the march, and their
wounds had to be bound up quickly or not at all. When
they had withdrawn from the town, taking with them
their conyalescents, the Union forces came in. Their
sick and wounded were also nursed by another band of
the same Sisters at St. Joseph's College, which was con-
ducted by the Jesuit fathers, but which, of course, at that
time was not in educational use. Thus in the midst of
civil strife, with the bullets flying thick and fast, did the
Sisters work under one flag — a flag that was respected by
Northerner and Southerner alike — the flag of humanity.

Some of the episodes connected with the work of the
Sisters was of an exciting and dramatic nature. Late one
night in September, 1862, twelve Confederate soldiers in
their gloomy gray uniforms marched into Nazareth, after
a wearisome journey from Lexington, Ky. They were
received, as all visitors are, with kindness and hospitality.
They came to ask the Sisters to nurse their sick and
wounded comrades. The request was granted at once.
"How many Sisters can you spare for the work?"
"Six now and more later, if necessary," was the
prompt reply.

"When will they be ready to return with us ?"
"This very night, and at once," was the incisive reply.
Such promptness was as surprising as it was pleasing
to the couriers. That very night six Sisters, without any-
thing beyond the familiar garb which they wore, their
usual rosaries and a few books of devotion, started on their
mission, ready, if need be, to offer up their lives in what
they believed to be the service of God. They proceeded

194 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

on their long journey under the protection of a flag of
truce. Resting in a farmhouse one night and in Frank-
fort, the capital of the State, the next, they finally reached
Lexington in safety. In a few hours they were installed
in one of the large halls in that city, which had been fitted
ux> for hospital purposes, and without any preliminaries
they began at once to minister to the sufferers who were
collected there. Later in the same year another band of
Sisters of Nazareth nursed the Union soldiers in one of the
colleges in another quarter of the city. As far as can be
ascertained this was Transylvania University.

Events that took place about that time proved that
the Sisters believed no material sacrifices were too great
when made in the cause of suffering humanity. In the
spring of 1862 General Smith, who was then in command
of the Union troops, nearly seven thousand strong, in
Paducah, Southern Kentucky, asked the Nazareth Sisters
to come to the assistance of the many sick and wounded
soldiers scattered about that city. He had been ad^dsed
to make the request by Dr. Hewit, who had the general
superintendence of all the hospitals in that section of the
country. Dr. Hewit was a man of great executive ability,
who stood in the very forefront of his profession. He had
great faith in the ability of the Sisters as nurses. He
was a convert to the Catholic Church, and a brother of the
saintly superior of the Paulist Fathers of New York city.
As no communication could be had with the Mother of the
house at Nazareth at this time, owing to the disturbed con-
dition of affairs, the request caused the Sisters some per-
plexity. Only for a time, though. A conclusion was soon
reached. Sister Martha Drury at that time was at the
head of St. Mary's Academy, probably the leading educa-

MORE ABOUT NAZARETH. 196

tional institution in Paducah. She resolved to close the
schools and go with all of her Sisters to the relief of the
soldiers. They went first to the Marine Hospital and then
moved to the Court House, which was known as the Cen-
tral Hospital. Their experiences in this place were simi-
lar to those of the Sisters who were engaged in the hos-
pitals at Louisville.

Their greatest difficulty was experienced in caring
for those soldiers who were afflicted with contagious dis-
eases. Typhoid andsimilar fevers held sway in their
most virulent form. The havoc that war had made in the
human frame was painfully evident in this particular hos-
pital. After the close of the war the Sisters returned to
their academy, which exists in the town to-day in a flour-
ishing condition. It will ever remain as a monument to
that brave little band of Sisters who gave up their peace-
ful pursuits to minister to the afflicted, and it will ever be
pointed out as the house from which Sister Mary Lucy, the
gentle little teacher, went forth to meet her martyrdom
a martyrdom as blessed in the sight of heaven as any ever
undergone by the saints of old.

The gentleness and devotion with which the Sisters
nursed all of the wounded soldiers, no matter what the
color of their uniform and regardless of rank, was not un-
appreciated by either "the boys in blue" or "the boys in
gray." Throughout the whole of the war, with but few
exceptions, their institutions, mother houses and places of
learning were exempt from the usual ravages of inter-
necine strife. This is especially true of the Sisters of
Charity of Nazareth. Being in close proximity to the con-
tending armies and their camps, great apprehensions were

felt at one time for the safety of Nazareth. This, too, in
12

196 ANGELS OF THE BArTLEFiELD.

spite of the fact that the daughters and other relatives of
the general officers of both sides were still pupils in the
school. At intervals during the war some of the generals
called at Nazareth for the puri>ose of visiting their chil-
dren. On these occasions they were always hospitably en-
tertained. Although the Sisters felt comparatively »afe,
they desired some official assurance of that fact. As is
usual in such cases, over-timid persons, generally friends
of the pupils, now and then sounded alarms. The follow-
ing letter, received by the Mother Superior from General
Wood, the original of which is still in possession of the
Sisters, reassured the community that it need not fear an
intrusion of the military into the sacred precincts. Gen-
eral Wood was in command of the Union troops:

"Headquarters U. S. Forces,
"Bardstown, Ky., January 20, 1862.
*'To the Lady Superior and Sisters of the Convent of
Nazareth: I have just had the pleasure to receive by the
hands of your messenger the very polite and complimen-
tary note of the Right Rev. Bishop Spalding, and I hasten
to apprise you that it is mj earnest desire and intention
to afford you perfect protection and the enjoyment of all
your rights both as an institution and as ladies indi\4du-
ally. It is my earnest wish and intention to secure you
and your ancient institution (which has educated so many
of the fair daughters of my own native State, Kentucky),
from all molestation and intrusion, and to this end I pray
you will not hesitate to make known to me any grievances
you may have on account of any misconduct on the part of
any officer or soldier under my command. I assure you
it will be equally my duty and my pleasure to attend to any
request you may have to make. I beg you to dismiss all
apprehensions on account of the presence of the soldiers-
in your sacred neighborhood, and to continue your peace-

MORE ABOUT NAZARETH. 197

ful and beneficent vocations as if the clangor of arms did
not resound in our midst.

"I have the honor to be, ladies, your very obedient
servant, Th. J. Wood,

"Brigadier General Commanding.

"Will you do me the favor to send the accompanying
note to Bishop Spalding?"

Later on Nazareth must again have been in dread of
military trespass, for one of its patrons, Hon. James
Guthrie, of Louisville, Secretary of State under a previous
administration, applied to President Lincoln for protection
for the institution. The President graciously issued the
necessary orders, saying that the violation of such orders
by any of the commanders would invoke his serious dis-
pleasure.

General Smith, Doctors Hewit, Fry, Kay, Austin and
the officers of the Union army surrounded the Sisters with
every mark of respect and esteem, and they in turn de-
voted all their energies to ameliorating the condition of
the suffering soldiers.

In addition to the labors of the Sisters of Charity of
Nazareth already mentioned, they did very elfective work
in the neighborhood of Owensboro and Calhoun, Ky. At
the last-named place the sick and wounded soldiers were
quartered in the two Protestant churches of the town.
The Sisters entered these places and attended the suffer-
ers there with the same diligence and patience that char-
acterized their work in every other locality. When Sis-
ters had to be removed on account of their own illness,
their places were promptly supplied by other Sisters. Re-
inforcements were on hand to fill every gap in the ranks.
As before mentioned, the Sisters of Nazareth neither re-

198 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

quired nor received compensation of any sort. The hun-
dreds of brave souls that have passed away since the war
have no doubt ere this received their reward in a better
world. Dr. Foster, who was engaged in the Louisville hos-
pitals while the Sisters were there, wrote eulogistic arti-
cles about them in the Louisville papers at that time, but
unfortunately these papers were not preserved.

The famous convent school from which these Sisters
came forth to do their great work is worthy of more than
passing notice. The organization known as the "Sisters
of Charity of Nazareth" was founded by Right Rev.
•John B. David, D. D., who was consecrated the first
Bishop of Bardstown (now the Diocese of Louisville) in
1810. Henry Clay, who knew this good man well, pro-
nounced him "the best representative of royalty off the
throne." The Bishop, with the Right Rev. B. J. Flaget,
built the little log cabin near Bardstown which was to
be the birthplace of the new order. It was a success
from the start. This was largely due to the piety and
administrative capacity of the mothers in charge. They
were sketched in an article in the "Catholic World" a
few years ago. The first of these was Catherine Spald-
ing, a member of the eminent Kentucky family of that
name. She held the position of Superior for more than
a quarter of a century, and by her great intellect and
modesty won the affection and admiration of all with
whom she came in contact. On her death, in 1858, she
was attended by another distinguished member of her
family, Right Rev. Martin J. Spalding. After her came
Mother Frances Gardiner, who proved a worthy success-
sor to a worthy Superior.

MOEE ABOUT NAZAKETH. 199

The last of this notable trio was Mother Columba
Carroll, in the world Margaret Carroll. For thirty-five
years she was directress of studies and teacher of the
first and second classes. In 1862, when the Civil War
was beginning to rage fiercely, she was elected Superi-
oress, and for ten years held that position with credit to
herself and the convent-school.

While Mother Columba took no active part in caring
for wounded soldiers, she was nevertheless the presiding
genius of the establishment at that time, and directed the
movements of the Sisters with extraordinary tact and
good judgment. She held many interviews with persons
in power, and thus warded off petty annoyances and
troubles. The occasion of Mother Columba's golden jubi-
lee was celebrated with great fervor by the community on
February 22, 1877. A drama, written by Sister Seraphia,
entitled "Religion's Tribute to Our Mother on Her Golden
Jubilee," was performed by tJie pupils, and was one of the
most successful features of an elaborate programme. One
of the touching incidents of the celebration was a poem
inspired by the venerable Sister Martha, one of the origi-
nal five that started at "Old Nazareth," and addressed to
Mother Columba. Mother Columba was one of the first
pupils under the care of Sister Martha. The following
lines from this graceful offering are worthy of a place
here :

There are many to-day, dear mother,

Who are crowning your head with gold,
And writing fine things of the record

Your fifty long years have told.
And, I too, should come with the others.

My offering before you to cast;
But I am old, and my thoughts, dear mother.

Somehow will fain run on the past.

200 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

On the days when our Naz'reth, dear Naz'reth,

Was not like what Naz'reth is now;

Our dear Lord only knew how.
Then we spun, and we wove, and we labored

Like men in the fields, and our fare

Was scanty enough, and our garments

'. Were coarse, and our feet often bare.

When we lived like the ravens and sparrows,

In the following year Mother Columba's earthly career
closed, but the force of her example still lives in the hearts
of those who were fortunate enough to be her pupils and
associates. Mothers Catherine, Frances and Columba made
a truly wonderful trio. They helped to give Nazareth the
reputation it enjoys to-day, and while the school exists
their memory will endure. The Sisters of Charity of
Nazareth are particularly known in Kentucky, and they
are to be found wherever suffering humanity calls.

The ancient house at Nazareth is the mother from
which have sprung forty-seven branch houses in various
parts of the country — schools, orphan asylums and hos-
pitals. Perhaps the most conspicuous of the latter is the
"Mary and Elizabeth Hospital," in Louisville, founded by
William Shakespeare Caldwell as a memorial to his wife
and a tribute to the Sisters who educated her. The
mother house is located a few miles south of Bardstown,
which is forty miles from Louisville. The buildings are
extensive and imposing. There is a presbytery, a convent
and academy, a chapel and the commencement hall. In
the old-fashioned hall are full-length portraits of Bishops
Flaget and David and Father Chambige. The library
contains five thousand volumes, and in the corner is an ex-
cellent bust of the late Archbishop Spalding. Mother

MOEE ABOUT NAZARETH. 201

Helena is the present Superior, and in the administration
of her office she has clung to the best traditions of the past,
I am sure I will be pardoned for digressing sufficiently
from the main subject of this volume to mention a few of
the distinguished patrons and graduates of this institu-
tion. The patrons included Henry Clay, who sent his
daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter there;
Judge Benjamin Winchester, John J. Crittenden, Judge
John Rowan, Zachary Taylor, Jefferson Davis, James
Guthrie, George D. Prentice and Charles Wickliffe. The
graduates include Sarah Knox Taylor, daughter of Presi-
dent Zachary Taylor; Madame Henrietta Spalding, now
Superior of the Sacred Heart Convent, in Chicago; the
first wife of Jefferson Davis; Mary Eliza, daughter of
James Breckinridge, of Kentucky; Mary Gwendoline Cald-
well, the original benefactress of the Washington Univer-
sity; the wife of United States Senator Vance, of Nortlr
Carolina; the four nieces of Jefferson Davis, all converts;
Mary Anderson, whose professional career is as much a
matter of pride to the good Sisters as her private virtues,
and Miss Taney, the author of the State poem, "The
Pioneer Women of Kentucky," written for the World's
Fair^ Such is the institution that furnished so many
nurses for the camps and the hospitals.

CHAPTER XIX.

SISTERS OF MT. ST. VINCENT.

A joint request from the Mayor of Cincinnati and the Archbishop of the
Diocese promptly answered. Appalling sights witnessed by the Sisters.
Young men seated on their own coffins prepare for execution. General
Rosecrans and his kindness to the Sisters. The Governor of Indiana
calls for nurses. Labors in Kentucky.

The work done by the Sisters of Charity of Mount
St. Vincent during the war was of a high order. The first
of the Sisters to enter the service as nurses were Sisters

Anthony and Sophia. Both
were sent to Camp Dennison,
Cincinnati, O., on the 1st of
May, 1861. On the evening
before that date a peculiar
holy calm was upon the beauti-
ful convent, which is located
on a hill top, just within the limits of Cincinnati. The
structure, surrounded by cedar trees and well-cultivated
grounds, had in it the appearance of nobility, religion,
peace and charity. The golden rays of the setting sun
glanced, then darkened as the Sisters were enjoying their
evening walk. A messenger suddenly called for the
Superior. The Mother leaves her religious family to at-
tend to business. Only a few minutes elapse when she

(202)

SISTERS OF MT. ST. VINCENT. 203

returns to inform her Sisters that his honor, the Mayor of
Cincinnati, and the Most Rev. Archbishop Purcell earn-
estly request the Sisters of Charity to attend the sick
troops who are stationed at Camp Dennison. There were
no commands; all willingly volunteered to nurse the sick
soldiers. Preparations were quickly made, and on May
1, 1861, five members of the community were named for
the camp. Sisters Sophia and Anthony were sent in ad-
vance, and Sisters Bernardino, Alphonse and Magdalen
followeid. Camp Dennison was situated about fifteen
miles from Cincinnati, on the Little Miami Railroad. This
location was advantageous for many reasons — easy of ac-
cess, with ample space and abundance of water, level and
suitable for military purposes. Mother Josephine, the
presiding Superior, accompanied the Sisters to this new
home. Their duties consisted principally in attending
the soldiers who were suffering from measles, which had
broken out in the ranks in the very worst form. After
these soldiers had recovered health the Sisters returned to
the Mother Superior House at Cedar Grove, Cincinnati,

After the return from Camp Dennison a hasty call
was received from the Mayor of Cumberland to at-
tend the sick and wounded of that place. Sister Anthony
was among the number, and an amusing incident is re-
lated of the Sisters' leave-taking. As the good-byes were
being said the train moved off, carrying only Sister
Anthony, She arrived in Columbus some hours in ad-
vance of the others, who boarded the next train. Arriv-
ing at the station in Columbus she received a telegram
from the Most Rev, Archbishop of Cincinnati to return im-
mediately to St. John's Hospital to prepare for the si(;k
and wounded soldiers who were there, being brought from

204 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

different places. The Sisters named for Cumberland were
Sisters Sophia, Ambrosia, Ettiene, Agnes, Jane, Mary,
Gabriella. There they were kindly received by a Catholic
family. Dr. McMahon, the attending physician, was kind
and attentive.

The weather was cold, the accommodations poor and
the hospitals, of which there were twelve, were some dis-
tance from each other. There were crowded into these
hospitals at one time 2200 poor soldiers, suffering from
typhoid fever, pneumonia, erysipelas, etc. The duties
were very trying, but a murmur never escaped from the
lips of one Sister of Charity. Almighty God and His glorj
being their only aim, all seemed easy. "Sad and numerous
were the scenes we witnessed in those hospitals," says one
of the Sisters, "yet none presents itself more vividly to my
mind to-day than the suffering of the boy soldiers longing
for home and mother. How often were those endearing
words, 'Mother,' 'Home,' mentioned!"

Sister Jane says: "I had in my ward a droll boy
named Billy. Now, our Billy had watched the Sisters for
some time and addressed me thus: 'Lady, what is that I
hear the boys call 3^ou? Sister! Ah, that is a beautiful
name. Well, Sister, will you give me your Bible? I
would like to know something of your religion." Billy
received the little Bible, or rather a small catechism, of
which he made good use. He was soon baptized, made his
first holy communion, and his zeal did not end here. "Often
have I seen him on a platform explaining the words of his
catechism to his comrades, many of whom became fervent
children of the Church. Many hundreds of like instances
could be cited, but I trust they are written in the Book
of Life."

SISTERS OF MT. ST. VINCENT. 205

Sister Agnes spent about three months in Cumber-
land nursing the sick soldiers. She then returned to St.
John's Hospital, Cincinnati, to nurse the soldiers who were
being sent from Kichmond and Nashville to the city. "It
was here I witnessed the most appalling sights," she says ;
"men wanting arms or legs, and sometimes wanting both
arms and legs — pale, haggard faces, worn from long
marching and fasting. Many, I think, died of broken
hearts. Faces and voices haunt me yet, calling for home
and dear ones whom they were destined never again to
behold on earth. The streets of this now flourishing city
were th'en the scenes of extreme suffering and misery.
Frequently fine young men, seated on their own coffins,
passed through on their way to execution on some neigh-
boring hillside."

About the 16th of February the Sisters received a
hasty call from Cumberland. Mother Josephine and Rev.
Father Collins were to accompany them to the scene of
their duties. They reached Wheeling about 5 P. M. the
next day, and received hospitality from the Visitation
Nuns. The next morning, in the face of a blinding storm
of sleet and snow, the Sisters started for Cumberland,
where they were met at the station by Dr. McMahon, the
surgeon of the post. They walked in procession through
the streets, and were the objects of much curiosity. That
evening they secured some rooms, but slept on the floor.
The next morning they were assigned some apartments in
the house of a Southern gentleman. Dr. Healy, whose sym-
pathy with the South compelled him to leave home and
family. The accommodations here were little better than
at the hotel. The bunks were made of rough boards, cov-

206 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

ered with straw ticks, and the pillows were of the same
material.

Pages would not suffice to relate all the good done in
Cumberland. Often during the stillness of night one
might have gazed on a Sister as she stood at the cot of a
dying soldier, heard her whisper words of consolation and
religion in his ears, saw her close gently his dying eyes.
Thus they passed long, weary nights.

Early in March, 1863, the Sisters of Mount St. Vin-
cent, who had already done valiant service in other locali-
ties, were invited to go to Nashville to nurse the sick and
wounded of that place. Those named were Sisters An-
thony, Constantina, Louise, Benedicta and Gabriella.
They left Cincinnati March 19, 1863, and were accompan-
ied by Kev. Father Tracy. There were four hospitals at
this place, fairly well adapted for their purpose. Sister
Constantina, who took charge of the first one, proved to
be an angel of mercy to the poor invalids. The building
was formerly an old cotton mill, located on an eminence
known as College Hill. The Sisters were quartered in a
small house opposite to this place, and during their stay
were treated with the greatest consideration. Many of
the wounded were sent to this place after the battle of
Stone River. Most of the patients were young, and they
suffered intense agony.

At one time measles became quite epidemic among
the soldiers, from which many of them died. It was dur-
ing the mission at this place that General Rosecrans, with
his body-guard, made daily visits to the sick. He was
wont to say in his kind, jovial way: "Come, come, boys,
you are foxing; these Sisters are too good to you," then
laugh heartily at his remarks. He was very kind to all the

SISTERS OF MT. ST. VINCENT. 207

Sisters. The next important call to duty was at New
Creek. The Sisters of Charity named for this colony were
Sister Sophia, in charge, assisted by Sisters Ann, C€oelia,
Beatrice, Stainlaus, Etienne, Laurence and Benedicta.
The chaplain was Rev. Father Corcoran.

From the diary of one of the above-named Sisters the
following is extracted: "We left Cedar Grove Academy
June 9, 1862, for New Creek. Arriving at our destination,
we were assigned a tent, erected for our accommodation
by order of Dr. McMahon. This gentleman, however, soon
procured better quarters for us with a family named
Dinges. Here we performed our duties of nursing the
sick and wounded with energy and zeal. During our stay
at New Creek we were treated with great kindness and
respect, particularly by Colonel Miller, who, although a
Protestant, proved a sincere friend of priest and Sisters.

"It is not surprising that our peculiar dress was a
source of amusement to many persons who had never be-
fore seen a religious. We were frequently asked
why we dressed so differently from other ladies. We are
happy to relate that our care and kindness removed many
prejudices against our religion. We remained at New
Creek about three months; then the army moved to Cul-
pepper Court House. We followed in ambulances and
nursed the sick soldiers in tents pitched on the camp
grounds. Some of the soldiers had typhoid fever, of which
disease many of them died. When the Confederates were
victorious at Harper's Ferry we retreated to Washington,
whence we returned to the Mother house, Cincinnati."

Gallipolis was the next assignment. The Sisters
named for the field of charity were Sisters Louis, Am-
brosia, Euphrasia, Basilia, Gonzaga, Laurence, Constan-
tina and Seraphine. About eight months^ after their re

208 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

turn from Cumberland they were ordered to this location
to attend the soldiers from Winchester and Lynchburg,
The wounded did not reach the hospitals until fourteen
days after the battle. The misery and suffering presented
was most frightful. The attending physician was Dr.
Stone, and the chaplain was Eev. Father Callenberg. Sis-
ter Gonzaga, a very holy person, who has since gone t6
her reward, took quite an interest in little Toby, a little
darky, who was conspicuous about the camp, and who en-
deavored, whenever an opportunity occurred, of instruct-
ing him in the knowledge and love of God. When she
thought she had instructed him sufficiently and an exam-
ination would not be out of place, she called him to her and
said: ''Toby, who made you?"

"Dun no, Sister," he answered.

She then said to him: "Well, Toby, who made the
trees, the grass, the flowers and all these beautiful things
which we see around us?"

The little fellow looked at her for awhile and said:
"Dun no; dey was all hyar when I comed."

The soldiers in Gallipolis acted as gentlemen in their
intercourse with the Sisters- The sight of a Sister was
sufficient to check the least levity. Men who had been
taught to look on Catholics as dangerous people learned
to love and respect the faith which taught even women
to sacrifice their lives for the comfort or relief of the sol-
diers.

The Governor of Indiana made application to the
Most Eev. Archbishop of Cincinnati for the Sisters to care
for and nurse his troops in Richmond, Ky. Sisters An-
thony and Sophia were among the first ones sent. They
traveled in ambulances from Cincinnati. The following
are extracts from the diaries of these religious :

SISTEES OF MT. ST. VINCENT. 209

"Much, very much, might be said of our work at Rich-
mond, but God alone could tell the story. En route from
here (Cincinnati) we witnessed sights the most appalling;
the grounds were covered with wounded, dying and dead
bodies. Some of the dead bodies were only partially cov-
ered, hands and feet protruding. The weather being very
hot added not a little to the hardships of this scene of ac-
tion.

"Arriving in Richmond, we began work immediately.
The hospital had been an academy, affording wards larger
and better than many other locations during the war.
Shortly after attending to those suffering from the most
severe wounds, a Sister discovered a poor soldier crouched
in a comer. For hours he had lain under the burning rays
of the sun, suffering severely from a wound received in his
shoulder. The flesh surrounding the wound was dread-
fully mangled, and owing to neglect was swarming with
vermin. Pale and haggard he looked. I shall never forget
him. We washed and dressed his wounds and administer-
ed the necessary cordials, and when we placed him in a
clean cot the reader may imagine his joy.

"Another ward in this hospital accommodated more
than one hundred men. Seventeen were lying on the
floor, each of whom had lost one or more limbs. 'What
shall we do with these poor men ?' was the constant query.
"The first death that occurred was of a man who had
been shot through the lung. He had been exposed to the
heat of the sun, and had eaten no food for hours. Every-
thing was done for him, but his moments on earth were
few. He received the last sacraments and died a beauti-
ful death. His last words were : 'Thanks to the Sisters.'
This death and its attending circumstances were the cause

210 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

of many conversions. One pious Episcopalian asked the
Sisters for books on the subject of religion, saying that 'a
religion which teaches gentle ladies such devoted self-
sacrifice for suffering humanity must be Divine.'

"No page in history can record such noble deeds of cour-
age and devotion as that illuminating the life and labors
of these Sisters during their stay at Richmond. Particu-
larly noble was our much esteemed Sister Anthony. (1)

"History can point to annals of devotion and self-sacri-
fice of noble women, but no annals are so rich in noble
work and silent charity as that of our loved Sister, Hun-
dreds of men scattered over the States wUl always re-
member and revere her. She seemed happy when engaged
in alleviating the sufferings of others, particularly of the
soldiers."

The following anecdote from the diary of a Sister illus-
trates the influence that the religious possessed with these
soldier boys :

"It is midnight. The moon sends ,her welcome light to
cheer my watching hours. There is stillness all around,
although many soldiers are suffering. But listen! I hear
moans. A poor soldier is dying; must away to his cot. Yes,
he was dying, I prayed, then spoke: 'Now, my young
friend, you are going home,' 'Home!' said the boy; 'what
do you meai^, Sister?' 'Why, would you not like to go to
heaven?" 'Sister, are you going there when you die?' I as-
sured the boy that I sinoerely hoped to go there, 'Well,'
said .he, 'so do I,' I called the chaplain, had the soldier
baptized and ere the morning dawned this beautiful soul
was in heaven,"

(1). In order to preserve the continuity of the narrative as much
aiS possible the most important work done by Sister Anthony and
other Mother Seton Sisters has been outlined in Chapter VII.

' ■ < /

CHAPTER XX.

THE SISTERS OF MERCY.

An application from the Secretary of War to the Superior of the order. Nine
Sisters depart for the Government Hospital at Beaufort, N. C. A dinner
of pork and beans and mouldy bread. The steward who expected the
Sisters to poison some of the patients. Comphmented by Jefferson
Davis. A convent confiscated by General Slocum. Secular ladies who
had " other engagements " when the smallpox appeared.

None of the Sisters who gave up their time and talents
to the cause of suffering humanity did better work than
the Sisters of Mercy. Their most conspicuous service was

on Southern battlefields, al-
though, like their colleagues in
this merciful work, they were
subject to the call of duty no
matter whence it came. On
the 19th of June, 1862, Vicar
General Starrs, of New York,
applied for a sufficient corps of nurses to take charge of
a military hospital in North Carolina. The proposition
was laid before the Sisters of St. Catherine's Convent of
Mercy, in New York City, and the invitation promptly and
cheerfully accepted.

Nine Sisters were selected for the mission. They in-
cluded Sisters Mary Augustine MacKenna, M. Elizabeth
Callanan, M. Paul Lennon, M. Gertrude Ledwith, M. Paula

13 (^211)

212 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Harris, M. Veronica Dimond and M. Agatha MacCartby.
Tiie Mother Superior and Mother Alphonsus decided to go
with the party. The chaplain was Rev. Father Bruhl, a
native of Hungary, sixty years of age. He had a long,
flowing grey beard, and while he was not possessed of an
adequate knowledge of English, he was equipped with a
valuable experience of hospital work incident to warfare.
This was derived from long and laborious service in the
French army during the war which resulted in the taking
of Algiers.

The Sisters bade adieu to their convent friends on the
15th of July, and boarded the Government boat Catawaba,
which was to take them to the scene of their future labors
at Beaufort, N. C. The Sisters were under the care of
General Foster, who showed them every consideration.

It happened that 500 horses, destined for cavalry ser-
vice, were to be passengers on the vessel, and as the
tedious and somewhat distressing process of getting them
into the hold only commenced after the Sisters boarded
the boat the Catawaba could not leave the dock until the
afternoon of July 16.

A non-Catholic officer writing from Beaufort at this
time says:

''The Hammond General Hospital, at Beaufort, N. C,
is eligibly located on the bay, the tide rising and falling
entirely around the main building. It is under the care
of the Sisters of Mercy, whose earnest devotedness to the
noble task they have assumed is manifested in the cleanly
condition of the place and the comfort and contentment
displayed by all the patients. One kitchen, a perfect
Taijou' of a kitchen, is devoted to the use of the Sisters,
where they prepare every kind of delicacv which the

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THE SISTERS OF MERCY. 213

condition of the sick require, in such a manner as those
good Sisters only can prepare such things. The preju-
dice which exists in some illiberal-minded persons toward
Catholics would be very speedily and effectually dis-
pelled could they witness, as we have, these worthy
ladies modestly but earnestly pursuing their vocation
among tJie sick and wounded, with no hope of reward
until He, whose divine example they imitate, shall say:
'I was weary and ye ministered unto me.' Long may
Sister Mary Madeline, the Superior, and her amiable
Sisters be spared to pursue their work of faith and love
among us. Our soldiers feel truly grateful to Mrs. Foster,
the accomplished wife of our Major General, for her con-
sideration in bringing the Sisters here."

The structure which was known as the ^'hospital" is
Thus aoairably described by Mother Mary Carroll: "It
was a larj;e building that had formerly been a summer
hotel. It was so near the shore that at high tide the
waves rolled in and out under the timber props on which
it was erected. It was a frame building, containing 500
rooms. The Sisters arrived in the midst of a heavy rain
storm. As they passed from the wharf to the building, in
single file, all dressed in black, the patients, looking out of
the windows, took them for nine lone widows, seeking the
dead bodies of their husbands!

"The place contained no furniture except a few miser-
able bedsteads, and was in a most desolate condition.
There was only one broom and very few utensils. The
broom, in possession of Chloe, a saucy little negress, was
seldom available. Along the shore were wrecks of pianos,
tables, chairs, glass, etc. There were no candles or lamps,
and every one was compelled to retire before night."

214 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Truly, a forsaken habitation for women, the most of
■yvhom had been brought up in homes of comfort and refine-
ment. The house was extremely dirty, and the Sisters got
very little rest the first night. The next day a transforma-
tion took place. The new-comers, with what assistance
they could obtain from the natives, began the work of
housecleaning. "Bob" Sproul, a young negro, who was
presented with a red shirt, was installed as water carrier.
He was so delighted with the conspicuous but useful gar-
ment that he wore it outside of his Sunday coat and pro-
claimed himself "the best-dressed man in North Carolina."

The first dinner of the Sisters was a "sumptuous re-
past" of pork and beans and mouldy bread, to which was
added coffee sweetened with molasses. Eight rooms were
assigned to the nurses These rooms were
located on the second story, and opened out on a piazza
overlooking the sound. In spite of the great considera-
tion shown the Sisters, they were compelled to undergo
many privations. Two of the Sisters, whose names are
not recorded, died from the effects of these hardships, and
several were dangerously ill.

Nearly all the patients differed from the Sisters in re-
ligious belief, and their coming caused several humorous
as well as pathetic incidents. Many of the soldiers had
never met "a real, live" Sister before. Their minds had
been installed with false notions, and it was some days
before they appreciated the Sisters in their real character
and at their true worth. After the work in the locality
was finished, the steward of the hospital confessed that he
often sat up until 1 o'clock in the morning watching the
Sisters, fully expecting them to poison the patients, or do

THE SISTERS OF MERCY. 215

some other terrible thing, they being "confessed emissaries
of the Pope."

The dress of the Sisters scared some of the others.
"Great heavens!" shrieked one patient to the nurse that
bent over him, "are you a man or a woman? But your
hand is a woman's hand ; its touch is soft, and your voice
is gentle. What are you?"

"Only a poor servant of the Great Master, come from
afar to serve you," said the Sister.

"Sister," moaned another, "I'm dying. I want to be
what you are; help me."

"What the Sister believes, I believe," cried another,
who had probably never known any religion. "Sister, tell
me what to answer when the priest comes to baptize me."

When the patients finally recovered sufficiently to
leave the hospital they would offer little keepsakes to the
Sisters — a button, a shred of blue or gray, a pebble — with
a fervent "God bless you. Sister. I'll never forget you.
Pray for me."

The Sisters became part of the patients' lives. They
did more than nurse them. They cheered them in their
hours of despondency, and wrote letters for them to the
anxious ones at home. Some of the Sisters, by reason of
iU health, were compelled to return to New York. Their
places were promptly filled with recruits from the Mother
House.

The perfect discipline among the Sisters, the spirit of
humility and self-sacrifice that prevailed generally, was
exhibited when the Mother Superior in charge was suc-
ceeded by Mother M. Augustine McKenna. Mother Au-
gustine was one of the women who had previously pre
pared food for the soldiers. The patients and others were

216 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

surprised to learn, after the change, that she was not only
a person of great executive ability, but that she was also
a woman of the utmost refinement, and one of the most
intellectual members of the Sisterhood.

In October, 1862, it was found that Beaufort was too
much exposed for the patients, and they were removed to
Newberne. The residence of Glovernor Stanley was placed
at the disposal of the Sisters. It was transformed into a
handsome convent, the parlor being used as a chapel.
After the raids at Goldsboro all of the wards were crowded
with sick and wounded. Americans, Germans, Irish and
Creoles, aU came in the same ambulances, with their
clothing matted to the skin from ghastly wounds. They
were all treated alike by the nurses, who were working
in the cause of humanity.

Some time after the war Jefferson Davis, ex-President
of the late Confederacy, addressing a number of the Sis-
ters, said : "Will you allow me, ladies, to speak a moment
with you? I am proud to see you once more. I can
never forget your kindness to the sick and wounded in our
darkest days, and I know not how to testify my gratitude
and respect for every member of your noble order."

Mr. Davis met Mother Mary Teresa. Austen Carroll in
1887, and he reiterated his expressions of thankfulness
toward the sisters who had performed what he called a
great work. Many other dignitaries and soldiers on both
the Union and Confederate sides testified to the good ser-
vices rendered by the Sisters of Mercy. Their labors, how-
ever, did not end with the war, for after that cruel period
they busied themselves in establishing homes for widows
and asylums for the orphans.

The Sisters of Mercy also worked with unremitting

THE SISTEES OF MERCY. 217

zeal during the war at Mississippi Springs, Oxford, Jack-
son and Shelby Springs, The Southern Sisters, after de-
voting months to the service of the sick and wounded
soldiers in these localities, returned home to Vicksburg
only to find that General Slocum had confiscated their
convent for a headquarters. Father Michael O'Connor,
S. J., formerly Bishop of Pittsburg, was a personal friend
of Secretary of the War Stanton, and he at once inter-
ested himself in the cause of the Sisters. After a brief
correspondence their property was restored to them.

In February, 18G2, the Mayor of Cincinnati applied to
the Archbishop of the same city for a sufficient number
of Sisters to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers of the
Ohio regiments. The application was sent to Mother Te-
resa, who not only complied with it, but headed the dele-
gation of Sisters that went to the front. Grant and John-
son had met at Shiloh and the battle of Pittsburg Landing;
was the result. The Sisters went down the river on the
Superior, preparing bandages and other hospital neces-
saries on the way. s.

There was plenty of work to do when they landed,
and it was entered upon with zeal. A number of secu-
lar ladies also arrived upon the scene and insisted upon
aiding in the work. The Sisters cheerfully accepted their
assistance. In a few days small-pox broke out among the
patients and the secular ladies suddenly remembered that
they had important engagements elsewhere. They de-
serted the temporary hospitals with more haste than dig-
nity, leaving the Sisters in undisputed jxjssession. Mother
Teresa was especially devoted during the small-pox epi-
demic, joining the other Sisters in personally dressing the

218 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

wounds of the patients suffering from this loathsome dis-
ease.

The Sisters of Mercy also worked zealously in St. Louis.
They visited almost daily the hospitals on the Fair
Grounds in that city, where an average of from 1000 to
2000 sick and wounded men were being cared for. Many
other visitations were made to private hospitals and pri-
](^ate dwellings, where the necessities of the occasion hap-
pened to place the disabled soldiers. Particular attention
was paid to the patients in the McDowell College, used as
a hospital for sick prisoners of war. The Sisters sent large
hampers to this institution filled with clothing and with
delicacies in the way of food and drink.

Some of the poor sufferers were stone-blind, but as soon
as they discovered that the Sisters of Mercy were among
them they would stretch out their hands, crying, "Wel-
come, Sisters. If you had never given us anything we
would still rejoice to have you come amongst us with your
consoling words."

Three of the prisoners of war in the McDowell Hos-
pital were condemned to be shot as a measure of "retalia-
tion"— one of the cruel customs of the war. The sentence
of death had been passed with all due military solemnity,
and the carrying out thereof was inevitable. Knowing this
to be the case the Sisters visited the condemned men
in their cells and urged them to make suitable prepara-
tions for death. The unfortunate men received the Sis-
ters with cordiality, but they were furious at the decree
which condemned them to death, and absolutely refused
to consider any suggestions which would cause them to
forgive their enemies. While the Sisters were pleading
with the men an armed guard stood at the door and two

THE SISTERS OF MERCY. 219

other sentinels paced up and down the corridor with a
regularity and grimness that filled the scene with awe.

Finally perseverance conquered. The doomed men
relented, and a clergyman accompanied them to the scaf-
fold. They were blindfolded when making fervent acts
of contrition, and while engaged in this pious devotion
were launched into eternity.

One of the duties that devolved upon the Sisters dur-
ing the war, as well as thereafter, was the care of the
widows and orphans of the soldiers. There was one pathe-
tic case in the McDowell Institution, It concerned two
little girls, daughters of Southern prisoners. Their mother
and married sister had died in the prison, and their father
was among the missing. The little ones were seriously
ill when they were brought to the attention of the Sis-
ters. They were in such a sad plight that their clothes
had to be changed in the yard, and the cast-off garments
buried. Baptism was administered to them, and their
physical needs given immediate attention. The younger
child, about 8 years of age, died a few days later. The
other recovered and was instructed in the ways neces-
sary for a life of virtue and usefulness. At the close
of the war she was claimed by her father. He had searched
the city in a vain endeavor to find his offspring, and
when he had all but abandoned hope located her in th*^
"House of Mercy," conducted by the Sisters. On being
given positive pledges that the child would be properly
cared for the Sister s restored her to the anxious father.

Mary Mulholland, who became known as Mother
Francis of the Sisters of Mercy, did wonderfully effective
work during the war. She was born in Armagh, Ireland,
in 1808, but came to this country when a mere child.

220 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Her one desire was to become a member of one of those
devoted Sisterhoods that give their lives to the service
of the Creator. In spite of the opposition of her parents
this object was finally achieved. The opportunity came
when Bishop Quarter engaged a colony of Sisters of
Mercy for Chicago in 1843. The journey to the Western
city was by stage and boat, A terrific storm arose while
the party was crossing Lake Michigan. A high wave
swept over the deck of the vessel, carrying men, women
and children into the angry waters.

Mary MulhoUand was one of those that went over-
board, and when a brave man — a Mr. Ogden, who after-
wards became the first Mayor of Chicago — attempted to
save her she cried: "Leave me to my fate; save the
others." He did save others, but he saved her, too, for
a future of usefulness and good works. The future
Mother of the Order received the white veil from the
Bishop in April, 1847, and was professed by dispensation
December 28, 1848. Her business accomplishments made
,her a valuable member of the community.

Speaking of the experience of this good woman in
the Civil War Mother Carroll says (1): When the Civil
War broke out Mother Frances organized among the
Sisters a band of volunteer nurses to minister to the
sick and wounded on Southern battlefields. She accom-
panied them to Missouri, and set them to work. In Chi-
cago she looked after the soldiers, whether sick or pris-
oners. A Sister who shared with her the fatigues of
these great works writes: "Many soldiers crying out in
agony on their hard beds blessed her as she passed her
holy hands over their burning brows. The absent fath-

(1). Annals of the Sisters of Mercy.

THE SISTERS OF MERCY. 221

ers and mothers for whom they called could not come,
but this gentle, humble, self-sacrificing soul supplied
their places. A Southern lad of 18 cried like a child
when she laid her hand on his clammy brow. 'Oh, God,'
he murmured, 'I thought you were my mother.' She
prepared him for death, and he died in her arms.

Mother Francis was a power in the prisons and hos-
pitals when the most influential gentlemen and commit-
tees were refused admission. There were so many sym-
pathizers with Confederates in Chicago that a general
uprising between Federals and Secessionists was often
feared. Whenever or wherever the Sisters of Mercy
appeared the sick and wounded soldiers, whether in blue
or gray uniform, were abundantly supplied with every-
thing necessary for their comfort. Once when Secretary
Stanton refused to supply more rations during the cur-
rent month the case was laid before the President, who
wrote :

"To all whom it may concern : — On application of the
Sisters of Mercy in Chicago of the Military Hospital in
Washington furnish such provisions as they desire to
purchase and oharge the same to the War Department.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN."

After the war Mother Frances continued her useful
work in many convents of her order, dying peacefully
on December 8, 1888. (2)

(2). Many of the facts in the foregoing chapter have been glean-
ed from the annals of the Sisters of Mercy, which have been ably
edited by Mother Mary Carroll.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE NORTH CAROLINA HOSPITALS.

Solicitude of the Sisters for the patients under their care. Friendships
formed that were only parted by death. Interesting reminiscences of
Mother M. Augustine MacKenna concerning the Government Hospital
at Beaufort, N. C. A victim of camp fever and how he was relieved by
the nurse.

There were many incidents of interest in the hospitals
at Beaufort and Newbeme, N. C, told by Mother M. Au-
gustine MacKenna to her niece, Sister Dolores, and other

members of the community of
the Sisters of Mercy. Some of
these were incorporated in a
neat little book called the
"Milestone," issued last year
to commemmorate the golden
jubilee or 50th anniversary
of the Sisters of Mercy in
New Yorlf City. The principal
points are embodied in the paragraphs that follow. (1)

Beaufort is a village on a little peninsula that runs
out into Bogue Sound, It is directly opposite to Fort
Macon, which is built on an island in these shallow wat-

(1). The author desires to express his thanks to General James
R. O'Beirne, of New York city, who aided him very materially in
ohtaining the material in question.

(222)

THE NORTH CAROLINA HOSPITALS. 223

ers. Before the war Beaufort was a place of fashionable
resort for sea bathing, and its principal hotel, though a
frame building, contained five hundred rooms and was
elaborately furnished; but having been sacked in the
spring of 1862 everything of value was destroyed. It was
therefore in a sadly denuded condition when it was util-
ized as a hospital and made the temporary resting place of
two hundred disabled men, just two months previous to
the coming of the Sisters.

Only the common army rations had been provided
for these sufferers, and their situation was painful in the
extreme. A complete dearth of utensils in every depart-
ment marked the early management of the hospital.
There was no modern means of washing clothes, it had
to be done with a few small, old-fashioned tubs, and the
untrained hands of some escaped field slaves.

No artificial light of any kind, not even a candle,
could be procured at that time in Beaufort, and there
was no proper food or refreshing drink for the patients.
The Sisters sent an urgent requisition to the United
States Sanitary Commission, and very soon the hospital
was amply provided with all necessaries and many com-
forts in the line of dressing-gowns, towels, sponges, cas-
tile soap, "Aunt Klyne's cologne," etc.

Even in the midst of such suffering many amusing
incidents frequently occurred, as for instance when a
Sister undertook the task of getting the kitchen cleaned.
This establishment had been until now under the con-
trol of a certain functionary called the kitchen steward.
He was a native of Maine, of short, stout build; never
wore shoes (on account of the heat, he said), but always
wore an immense straw hat in the house and out of it,

224 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

and constantly sat in a wheelbarrow at the kitchen
door with a huge bunch of keys dangling from the belt of
his ticking apron. He was a woodcutter in his native
forests before he was drafted into the army; he could
neither read nor write, and his name was Kit Condon.
The negroes, and indeed his fellow-soldiers, called him
"Mr. Kit!" It took a great amount of persuasion to induce
"Mr. Kit" to relinquish his keys, the token of his dignified
office, to the "North lady," as the Sister in charge was
called, and he eyed the cleaning process from his wheel-
barrow with evident disapproval.

"Mr. Trip," a soldier six feet high, was another
important personage in the culinary department, and this
with "Edward, the baker," who made his "cookies," buns,
pies, etc., on the marble top of a ruined billiard table,
completed the kitchen force.

The renovating that kitchen received was marvel-
ous! Piles of greasy sand were swept into the ocean
through a never-to-be-forgotten hole in the very midst of
the kitchen floor. The house being built on "piles" or
timber supports, this portion of it was directly above
the water. After the debris of a meal had been thrown
them through this opening the fishes could be seen by
hundreds when the tide was in, and nothing could sur-
pass their voracity, unless indeed it was their quarrel-
someness, for they seemed bent on annihilating one an-
other.

One day much excitement was created by the arrival
of an escaped slave. A tall young girl was seen running
breathlessly across the sort of bridge or causeway that
connected the hospital premises with the village of Beau-
fort. She was quickly followed by an elderly Southerner,

THE NORTH CAKOLINA HOSPITALS. 225

and he was very close to lier when she got to the end of her
perilous race.

The soldiers cheered her wildly, and called to her
that she was safe with them, while they pointed their
bayonets at her pursuer and swore in no measured terms
that they would pitch him into the sea if he laid a finger
on the girl.

However, some of the officers took up the case and
brought both man and girl into the General's office, in
order to come to an understanding. The man cried out,
"She is my gal; she is my gal; she was born upon my
place; she is mine." But the General would not listen to
this claim, and told the man the girl was free from the
moment she claimed the protection of the army.

She was all trembling and exhausted with fear, fa-
tigue and excitement, and during the remainder of that
day she had to be encouraged and consoled and petted
like a baby, although she was 17. Her name was Ellen,
and she had a sweeter face and softer manners than
are generally found among colored persons^

Towards the end of October the tides became very
high, and the water was driven under and around the hos-
pital with greater impetuosity by the wind. On one oc-
casion the water was profane enough to invade the
"Hall" where a good old Unitarian minister held forth
to his sparse congregation, and the "meeting" had to be
discontinued. The next tide was still more daring, for
it swept clear through the kitchen and dining room, leav-
ing in both a debris of dead crabs and little fish, not to
mention seaweed of every variety. All this rendered the
place very uninhabitable, and General Foster, with his
usual thoughtfulness, authorized the Sisters to move 1o

226 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Newberne and to take possession of the Stanley House,
the officers and doctors receiving orders at the same time
to remove the patients thither as soon as possible.

The two Sisters sent to inspect the prospects in New-
berne had a delightful sail in an open boat through the
sound, past Fort Macon and past the sea-green islands
on to Moorhead City, which "city" consisted of twelve
houses and a few "shanties." On arriving at Newberne
the Sisters were agreeably surprised at the aspect of •
the "Stanley" House, so-called because it had originally
been the home of Governor Stanley, of North Carolina.

A handsome lawn or courtyard lay in front of the
house. Beautiful large cedars grew within this enclosure,
and as their berries were now ripening flocks of mocking-
birds were rejoicing in their branches and filling the air
with their own inimitable harmony. In a corner stood a
grand old "Pride of India," the first tree of the kind the
Sisters had ever seen; climbing roses clustered around
the windows, and numbers of little songsters made their
abode in the foliage.

The house was fine and in perfect repair, having been
used as General Burnside's headquarters. It had not
been ransacked or rifled as most of the other houses had
been. Of the two large handsome parlors one was set
aside for a chapel, and a beautiful one it became soon
afterwards.

In the last week of October the hospital at Beaufort
was vacated, and the sick soldiers were much more com-
fortably settled in their winter quarters. The "hospital"
was distinct from the "Stanley residence" and consisted
of three houses and several newly-erected pavilions; a
nice shady path and a large garden separated these
from the Sisters' domicile.

THE NOETH CAROLINA HOSPITALS. 227

In December, 1862, General Foster, with a large de-
tachment of the men under his charge made an attack
on the town of Goldsborough, North Carolina, and almost
ruined it. An immense number of soldiers were wounded,
and, as the doctors' stores had not arrived, the surgeons
had no old linen or lint with which to bind up the wounds
of the poor sufferers. For this reason they presented a
most fearful spectacle. Some had their heads and faces
wrapped in coarse cloth, and were so besmeared with
blood that the sight was a painful one.

Others, indeed the greater number, had either one
or both feet in a terrible condition, the feet having been
pierced with balls. There were broken legs, broken arms
and one unhappy victim had both hands shot off, and the
condition of these agonizing wounds was something ter-
rible.

The first task of the Sisters was to feed the wretched
sufferers, who had had but little care bestowed upon
them. After that the difficult and distressing duty of
cleansing their wounds was undertaken and was left
entirely to the Sisters.

One very large man named Sherman, an English-
man, had his mouth and chin so shattered that the doc-
tors decided that his mouth had better not be touched,
as he must certainly die. However, the Sisters with
soft sponges and warm water began to loosen the horrible
rags with which the poor man's face and head were cov-
ered. He, poor fellow, had heard enough of the doctor's
opinion to render him hopeless, and when he found that
efforts were being made to relieve him he tried to evince
his gratitude by signs. When the wraps were removed
blood began to flow from his mouth, and a Sister took
14

228 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

out with her finger several loosened teeth, and thus
greatly facilitated his breathing. The utmost possible
care was taken of this patient, and the satisfaction of
seeing him perfectly restored to health, though disfig-
ured in a dreadful manner, was in itself a great reward.
The dumb gratitude he displayed when he came to say
"good-bye" as he was leaving the hospital was very pa-
thetic.

Another interesting case was that of David Brant, a
ruddy-faced lad about 18 years of age. He was suffering
in some way that could not at first be discovered. It
was noticed that he kept moving his feet in a distressing
sort of way. These members were uncovered, when, to
the surprise of the Sister attending him, it was found
that he had still his boots on and that they seemed ready
to burst. Some of the soldiers at hand came with knives
and cut them off, piece by piece, with great difficulty, and
then, alas! it was found that veins of the boys legs had
burst open, and his boots were filled with clotted blood.
The doctors were sent for, and had great trouble in
stanching the blood, and in tying up the arteries. It
need hardly be added that the poor lad died the next day
in great agony. He was the victim of a forced march in
which the men were made to run for several miles with-
out stopping. The Sisters wrote to his father the least
painful account possible of the poor son's death, and
received a most grateful reply, the bereaved gentleman
adding that but for them he would never have known the
real truth of the sad event

"Hiram" was a victim of camp-fever; unfortunately
for him he had been kept in camp too long after he took
sick, and the fly-blister had been applied to the back of

THE NOETH CAROLINA HOSPITALS. 229

his neck. Some of his comrades took it off, but applied
no dressing of any kind, so that the coarse blue flannel col-
lar of his shirt grew into the raw sore, and his hair also
festered into it. It was his cries that first attracted the
attention of a Sister, for he was brought into the hospital
in this condition.

She found a soldier trying to relieve him by applying
a coarse wet towel in cold water to his neck, and this
caused the screams of the sufferer. A soft sponge, warm
water and castile soap came into requisition here, and
when the hair was cut so as to free it from the sore,
and the gathers of the shirt ^oosened from the collar, the
poor boy began to feel a little relief. As he lay with his
face buried in the pillow he did not see who was attending
him.

"Who is doing that?"

"A Sister of Mercy," was the reply.

"No," said he, "no one but my mother could do it :"

By degrees the sore was nicely dressed with soft old
linen and cold water — the only dressing allowed by the
doctors — and then Hiram stole a glance at his new friend
and nurse.

"What are you, at all?" was the first question.

The Sister tried to make him understand what a Sis-
ter of Mercy does, or tries to do for those who suffer, and
he sank back in his pillow, saying,

"1 don't care what you are; you are a mother to me."

He was only 16, full of bright intelligence and wit,
but after suffering dreadfully for six weeks from the fatal
fever he died in the arms of his father, who had been ap-
prised by the Sisters of poor Hiram's condition, and had
come from Boston to remain with him.

230 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Many such sad incidents might be related, but no
doubt such are the records of every hospital. The Sisters
continued their services until May, 1863, when General
Foster, under whose protection they had been able to ef-
fect much good, was ordered to Tallahassee, Florida,
where there was no need of a military hospital. The neces-
sity for the Sisters was now^ not so great in North Caro-
lina— most of the poor men having been released from
their sufferings, many by death and others by recovery —
so preparations were commenced for returning to New
York.

The Sisters felt very much for the poor negro girls
who had attached themselv^es to them so affectionately,
and who in their simple ignorance thought that the
^'North ladies" could do anything and everything. Some
very amusing incidents took place in connection with our
"contrabands." One night a Sister, having forgotten
something in the kitchen, went for it at a later hour than
usual. All the negro girls and women who worked for
the hospital — scrubbing, washing, ironing, etc. — slept in
the rooms over the kitchen ; and the Sister, hearing peals
of laughter, did not think it beneath her dignity to act
the part of a listener under these "colored" circumstances.
She therefore went noiselessly up the stairs, and, to
her great amusement, heard herself perfectly imitated by
one of the girls. This Sister had for many months been
giving the general instructions to the women and girls;
now she heard the very tones of her voice and the man-
ner of her delivery most perfectly reproduced; another
genius undertook to represent another Sister, and so on
until every Sister was portrayed, to the great delight of
the company, the members of which never dreamed of the
amused listener on the kitchen stairs.

THE NOETH CAROLINA HOSPITALS. 231

The solicitude of tlie Sisters for the welfare of their
patients frequently caused warm friendships that con-
tinued long after the close of the war. Sister Mary Grer-
trude and Mother Mary Augustine were two of the Sis-
ters attached to the hospitals in Beaufort and Newberne.
One of those cases that came under their care was that
of Charles Edward Hickling, of the Forty-fifth Regiment,
Massachusetts Volunteers, The bravery and manliness of
this young soldier won the hearts of all.

Illness contracted in the service finally caused his
death in 1867. He bore all his suffering with great for-
titude. During his illness the Sisters visited him at his
home, and after his death sent consoling letters to the
bereaved family.

These letters show the tender sympathy and generous
interest of the Sisters towards the soldiers to such an
extent that the writer feels justified in giving brief ex-
tracts from what were intended to be personal missives.

Sister Mary Grertrude, under date of January 3, 1868,
wrote to the parents: "How can I express to you in ade-
quate terms the very great grief and affectionate sym-
pathy I feel toward you in your great affliction. May
God be your comfort and your refuge in this trying hour,
for in sufferings such as these no creature can
give you consolation. We must look higher. He who
sent the cross can alone give the power to sustain its
weight. Do not give way to despondency, my very dear
friends. The dear boy has only gone before you for a
time — we are all hastening towards our turn. In a very
little time we, too, shall have passed the eternal gates,
there to meet all we have loved and lost, and with them
praise the tender mercy of the good God to us whilst in

232 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

our exile. ♦ * * j have been, and am still with you,
in thought and spirit, going through the least detail of
all the trying circumstances of this sad bereavement."

Mother Augustine, who was the Superior of the Sis-
ters at the Newberne Hospital, writing to a devoted
friend — Miss Susan Messinger — said on January 4, 1868:

"So our brave soldier boy is gone, his long and try-
ing march has brought him to the goal, and in his young
enthusiasm he has gone to join the numerous band of
those who were his companions on the field and in the
fight, in danger and in privations, exposure and fatigue,
but not in the long years of patient and heroic endurance
which requires more of a martyr's fortitude than a sol-
dier's courage. Dear Charles! He is the last of our soldier
boys — the last link that bound us to the Boston Regiment,
the brave Massachusetts Volunteers, whose heroism we
shall never forget. * * * Eternity! Dear Charles
knows its wonders now. Let us pray that we may so live,
so use our powers here that our eternity may be with
those who have fought their way through the trials and
sorrows of life to its unending peace."

CHAPTER XXII.

LABORS IN THE WEST.

The Sisters of Mercy attend the sick and wounded in the " Irish Brigade,"
the command organized by Colonel Mulligan, whose life was sacrificed
in the Union cause. Sisters leave Chicago for Lexington, Mo. One
brave, religious Sister who wanted to finish her office before being shot.
General Fremont and his staff call upon the Sisters. Taking charge of
the hospital department of the steamship Express.

Soon after the beginning of the war the "Irish Bri-
gade" was organized in Chicago by Colonel Mulligan,
whose life was sacrificed in the Union cause towards the

close of the war. He was a de-
vout Catholic, and a warm friend
of the Sisters of Mercy. As his
command were nearly all Cath-
olics he determined to secure
the services of the Sisters in
behalf of his sick and wounded,
and, before his departure from
Chicago, called on Eeverend
Mother Frances, from whom he
obtained the promise that the
suffering among his soldiers should be cared for by her
children. This is the mother of whom a brief sketch is
given in a previous chapter. The regiment left Chicago in

(233)

COLONEL MULLIGAN.

234 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

the summer of 1861, and was finally stationed at Lexing-
ton, Missouri. On September 3, six Sisters of Mercy, es-
corted by Reverend Mother Francis and her assistant,
left Chicago under the care of Lieutenant Shanley. The
Superiors were to return when the Sisters were settled
in Lexington.

The hospital was to be in charge of Sister M. Alphon-
sus Butler, assisted by her companions. To those who
had never been within sight or sound of "war's alarms,"
this appeared to be an undertaking of no small hazard.
The Sisters believed they were risking their lives. "Yes,"
said one, "I was fully convinced I should never see Chi-
cago again."

They went by St. Louis to Jefferson City, from which
point they were to proceed to Lexington. During their
stay in Jefferson they were the guests of Mr. and Mrs.
Mosely, who were ardent sympathizers with the Southern
cause. Nothing could exceed their attention and kindness
to the Sisters, to whom they showed every mark of re-
spect. When Mr. and Mrs. Mosely withdrew to St, LfOuis
they left their beautiful home at the disposal of their
valued guests.

It was rumored that Confederate forces were stationed
along the river banks, and that communication with Lex-
ington would be speedily cut off. The Sisters, therefore,
embarked on the first boat leaving Jefferson, the "Sioux
City," which was to carry them to their destination. It
was under command of Lieutenant Shanley, who was
conducting a detachment of troops to Lexington, Sev-
eral ladies were on board, among whom was Mrs, Mulli-
gan, who with her infant daughter was going to join her
husband. As the steamer proceeded up the river the

LABORS IN THE WEST. 235

rumors of "danger ahead" became more and more alann-
ing. At length, at the earnest request of some of the
ladies, Lieutenant Shanley gave orders to return to Jef-
ferson. On reaching that city the ofiflcer in command
directed that the ladies who were not willing to undertake
the Yoyage should be put ashore, and that the ''Sioux
City" should resume her voyage to Lexington.

The second attempt, however, proved that the alarm
of the ladies was not unfounded. Danger was constant-
ly apprehended. It was given out as certain that the
Confederates were stationed at Glasgow, a small town on
the Missouri. When the boat came within a few rods of
it the Confederates were seen rushing from the woods
on both sides of the river. Sister M. Alphonsus, who was
saying her office on deck, saw the men on the right bank
uncovering a cannon and preparing to fire. She hurriedly
entered the state room, saying:

"Here they are!"

"Who?" asked a Sister.

"The Confederates," she replied.

While they were still speaking they heard the whiz-
zing and rattling of bullets outside. The head of the
boat was immediately turned, but the firing from both
sides of the river continued for some minutes. Had the
assailants waited till the boat had come within range of
the cannon nothing could have saved her. Their im-
petuosity defeated their attempt. As it was, the escape
of the boat was considered miraculous. The Sisters after-
wards met a gentleman who had been among the Con-
fedates at Glasgow on that occasion. He told them that
the Southerners never could account for the escape of the
"Sioux City." There were five hundred infantry on the

236 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

right bank and one thousand cavalry on the left. No one
on board was wounded, but the craft was very much
damaged. The pilot-house was completely riddled, as the
Confederates had aimed particularly at the helmsman. The
Southerners afterwards declared they did not know there
were women on board when they fired on the boat, above
all, the Sisters, for they were especially courteous to all
who wore the religious habit. During the danger the
other ladies were placed by the officers in the part of
the boat which was least exposed. The Sisters stood in
readiness to wait on the wounded, but blessed God that
there were none such this time. When all peril was over
one of the Sisters caused much amusement by saying "I
continued to say my office all through the firing, so that
I might have it finished before being shot."

During the return voyage much apprehension was
felt, because the Confederates were supposed to be in
ambush at different points. About ten miles below Glas-
gow the boat stuck in a sand-bar, and the efforts of the
men to release her were more terrifying than the South-
ern bullets. This was the last attempt made to reach
Lexington. Meanwhile Colonel Mulligan's brigade of two
thousand men was surrounded by Price's men, supposed
to number twenty thousand. For three days the brigade
made a gallant resistance. Their supply of water had
been cut off for forty-eight hours, when they surrendered
to General Price, September 20, 1861. The General proved
himself a generous enemy, and his conduct won the es-
teem and gratitude of his distinguished prisoner. The
two men became sincere friends before they parted.

The Sisters continued to occupy the Mosely resi-
dence. They experienced the greatest kindness and respect

LABOKS IN THE WEST. 237

from the colored people left in charge of it. To the sim-
ple souls they were a great curiosity.

The old housekeeper wanted all her friends to come
to see the Sisters, and numbers responded to her ardent
invitations. These guests were puzzled to account for
the want of resemblance between persons related to each
other, as they thought, in the first degree. "You say this
lady is your sister," said one, "but she doesn't look like
you at all, nor this one, either." It took some time to
make them understand that the relationship was not
in blood, but in spirit and profession.

The Jefferson City Hospital for the sick and wounded
was placed under the care of the Sisters. This charge
they readily undertook at the request of the authorities,
as their original project of going to Lexington had proved
impracticable. They found the poor soldiers in wretched
condition. The hospital, a very recently established in-
stitution, had not yet sufficient furniture. Convalescing
soldiers, who were the only nurses, could not be expected
to bestow on the sick the tender care they required. No
woman of a religious order had ever before been seen in
Jefferson, and such of the soldiers as had heard of them
had heard little that was construed to their advantage.
The Sisters, therefore, on taking charge of the hospital
met with a very cold reception. They showed neither
surprise nor annoyance at this, and very soon the cold-
ness and prejudice disappeared, being followed by appre-
ciation and gratitude.

On entering the hospital they found a poor soldier
in a woefully neglected condition, lying on a blanket laid
on the floor. One of the Sisters requested the nurse to
allow her to have a little water. When she received it

238 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

she knelt beside the poor sufferer and bathed his face and
hands. The nurse, a rather stern person, stood by during
the process.

"May I ask, madam," said he when she finished, "is
that man a relative of yours?"

"No, sir," she replied, "I never saw him before; we
are here to take care of the sick, and we attend every
patient as we would our nearest and dearest relative."

In a short time the Sisters, by their self-devotion, had
gained the good will of tbe inmates and officers; and the
hospital began to wear a better appearance. It took a
good while, however, for the citizens and soldiers to be-
come so accustomed to the Sisters as always to recognize
them as such. One morning, as they were going pro-
cessionally to Mass they met a new detachment of sol-
diers, who stepped aside to allow them the sidewalk.
They kept a respectful silence until the Sisters had pass-
ed, when one turning to another inquired, "Who's dead?"

When General Fremont and his staff came to Jef-
ferson they at once visited the sick soldiers. Desiring to
have an interview with the Sisters the General was
shown to their apartment just as they had assembled for
their frugal meal. When he knocked the door was opened,
and, to their great astonishment, he and his staff, in bril-
liant uniform, stood before them. The interview was a
very pleasant one. General Fremont was on all occasions
most courteous to them, and granted everything they
asked. Eloquently did they represent to him the wants
of the poor soldiers, for whom he promised to provide, and
his promises were religiously kept. This officer wasi
noted for his kindness to his soldiers, especially the sick.

The Sisters also received several visits from Colonel

LABORS IN THE WEST. 239

Mulligan and his brave little wife, an old pupil of theirs.
When she heard of her husband's capture, although she
had but just recovered from a severe illness, she made her
way across the country to Lexington, to comfort him by
her presence. Soon after he was paroled, and they jour-
neyed homeward together, stopping at Jefferson on their
way. Mrs. Mulligan gave the Sisters a glowing account
of her husband's exploits, and moved them to tears by
her description of his sufferings. She was proud of him,
for he was a genuinely brave man. To rare merit he
added rare modesty, and were it not for the animated
recital of his devoted wife the Sisters would have heard
but little of his thrilling adventures in Lexington.

On the 10th of March, 1863, an incident occurred in
Mulligan's Irish Brigade which, while not dealing with
the labors of the Sisters, was of such an unusual charac-
ter as to deserve mention. It was the presentation of a
purse to Rev. Thaddeus J. Butler, D. D,, the chaplain, by
the Protestant members of the regiment. The follow-
ing address accompanied the purse:

Rev. and Dear Sir: — We, the undersigned, Protestant
members of the Twenty-third Regiment Illinois Volun-
teers, and O'Rourke Battery attached thereto, have
learned with deep and sincere regret of your intention
to leave us. From our long and happy association with
you, and the many kindnesses we have experienced at
your hands, we cannot permit you to depart without ex-
pressing to you the heartfelt sentiments we feel toward
you. The earnestness, zeal and untiring energy you have
displayed for the welfare of all connected with the regi-
ment, the kindly and deep solicitude and manly courtesy
which at all times we have experienced at your hands,
your sterling worth, so nobly tried in the hour of danger

240 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

have won for you all our hearts and gained your admira-
tion and respect. In parting with you we feel that we
have lost a dear and valued friend, a good counselor, and
a Christian gentleman, and we assure you carry with
you our sincere wishes for your welfare wherever your
duty may call you. Wishing you a. kind farewell and ihat
God may bless you, we remain.

The signatures followed this.

Colonel Mulligan presented the purse in the presence
of the officers and orderly sergeants of the regiiaent and
in doing so said :

"Kev. and Dear Sir: — Our gallant brigade desires me
to present to you as an earnest of their respect and affection
the accompanying purse. To us all in every situation
you have proved yourself the devoted friend and the
exemplary priest. Our hearts are with you."

One of the soldiers, writing to the Freeman's Jour-
nal of this remarkable event, says:

"When the Protestants of our regiment address words
of so much affection and attachment to our beloved chap-
lain, how are the Catholics, his own co-religionists, for
whom he has labored zealously and devotedly, to testify
their sorrow at his departure from them ? Words can but
inadequately do so.

"Our separated brethren proved in a substantial man-
ner the sincerity of their declaration by contributing lib-
erally to the purse which was donated to him. They
worked upon our rustic church as eagerly as those for
whose benefit it was constructed. The amiable Captain
Simison, an ardent admirer of Dr. Butler, superintended
the work. Our late worthy and accomplished chaplain
was necessitated to return to his own congregation at Chi-
cago, which has been bereft of his ministr-y. General Kel-
ley with his staff came from Cumberland to bid him fare-

LABORS IN THE WEST. 241

well. The General held Mm in esteem and regretted his
departure. Last evening the reverend doctor passed
through the quarters and bade good-by to the several com-
panies; afterward the men assembled at the depot, being
anxious to obtain the last glimpse of him. Lines were
formed by the men, between which he passed on entering
the train; hands were extended on both sides, half of
which he could not grasp. After entering the carriage,
and when it was in motion, many others shook hands
with him. The enlivening airs of Erin were played by
the band. Captain Gleason called for three cheers; for Dr.
Butler, which were responded to with deafening plaudits.
Colonel Mulligan came on the train from Cumberland, and
with many of the officers accompanied the Doctor a short
distance from the station.

"Dr. Butler organized a temperance society here last
fall. Being painfully sensible of the baneful effects of in-
temperance, the predominating sin of our race, he admin-
istered the pledge to almost 400 of the men. Although it
has not eradicated the vice, it has checked it in a great
measure. Many of the officers set the good example by
joining the movement. The Colonel is president of the
society, the Lieutenant Colonel is vice president. Father
Butler did not pledge them for life; only during the term
of their enlistment while they were under his spiritual
care. Lieutenant Nugent invited the reverend doctor and
most of the officers tO' supper last evening, where a boun-
teous table was spread for them, and good cheer pre-
vailed."

It is in order to state here that on the 20th of De-
cember, 1861, Mr. Arnold, rising in his seat in the House
of Representatives, at Washington, introduced a joint
resolution giving the thanks of Congress to Colonel
James A. Mulligan and the officers and men under his
command for the heroic defense of Lexington, Missouri,

242 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

which was read a first and second time. The joint reso-
lution was as follows:

Kesolved by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives that the thanks of Congress be extended to Colonel
James A. Mulligan and the gallant officers and soldiers
under his command, who bravely stood by him against
a greatly superior force in his heroic defense of Lexing-
ton, Missouri.

Resolved, That the Twenty-third Regiment of Illin-
Qois Volunteers — the Irish Brigade — in testimony of
their gallantry on that occasion are authorized to bear
on their colors the word '^Lexington."

Resolved, That the Secretary of War be requested to
communicate these resolutions to Colonel Mulligan and
his officers and soldiers.

The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed
and read a third time and, being engrossed, it was ac-
cordingly read a third time and passed (1).

Rev. William Walsh, of Jefferson City, was a sincere
friend of the Sisters during their abode in the hospital,
and they remember him with lively gratitude. On New
Year's Day, 1862, they made their renewal of vows in the
church. They also derived much comfort and support
from the many kind and encouraging letters they re-
ceived from their superior, Rev. Mother Francis. The
warmest sympathies of this noble-hearted woman were
aroused for her children, working in a cause so dear and
sacred. She visited them during the fall, and frequently
sent them contributions, provisions and delicacies for their

(1). From the Congi-essional Globe containing the debates and
proceedings of the second session of the Thirty-seventh Congress,
pace 158, Vol. 1.

LABOKS IN THE WEST. 243

sick soldiers. These soon became so numerous tliat two
more Sisters and several elderly women and young girls
were sent to their aid. An additional hospital was re-
quired, and a building formerly used as a seminary was
devoted to that purpose. The assistants of the Sisters
wore a uniform of gray, and as all went to Mass every
morning, when hospital duties permitted, the procession
of the black and gray-robed maidens looked rather sol-
emn.

Except in case of Catholics the ministrations of the
Sisters were confined to the bodily ills of the sick. They
rarely touched on religious subjects, save when the patient
desired it. On one occasion they found a dying man whom
they believed to be a Catholic. The Sisters who attended
him asked him to what church he belonged. He looked
cautiously around the ward and whispered:

"I am ashamed to tell."

"But," said she, "you should not belong to a church
of which you are ashamed."

The poor man then acknowledged that lie was a
Catholic, though, through human respect, he had con-
cealed it until then. The Sister spoke words of advice
and encouragement to the poor man — a brave soldier of
earth, an indifferent soldier of Christ — and had the con-
solation of inducing him to receive the sacraments. His
death took place soon after, and his fellow-soldiers, hav-
ing arrayed him in his uniform, placed upon his bosom
the crucifix which the Sister had given him. This act
of reverence in men who seldom gave religion a thought
surprised and pleased the Sisters not a little.

They remained in charge of the Jefferson City Hos-
pital imtil April, 1862, when, the army having been or-

15

244 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

dered to another division, their services were no longer
required. They, therefore, made preparations to return
to Chicago. The night before the day appointed for their
departure they were much surprised by receiving a sere-
nade from the military band. Next morning Father
Welsh said Mass in the hospital. The Sisters then bade
"good-bye" to the few soldiers who remained, and the
poor fellows were very much affected at the parting.

When the Sisters reached St. Louis they were waited
on by Mr. Yateman, Sanitary Commissioner, who request-
ed them to take charge of the hospital department of the
steamboat "Empress," then about to start for the battle-
field of Shiloh, in order to transfer the wounded to places
where they could receive proper care. Many of the sick
and wounded were on the battlefield, sheltered only by
tents, and deprived of almost every comfort. When the
necessary permission from home was obtained the Sister-s
went aboard the "Empress," bound for Pittsburg Landing,
which they reached on Palm Sunday, They had been
anxious to reach it that day, hoping to be in time for
Mass; but they were surprised and disappointed to find
that, instead of being a town or village, Pittsburg Landing
consisted of only one house, a log cabin, in which there
was no prospect of hearing Mass. They went ashore at
once to visit the sick and wounded of both armies, who
were in separate tents, and distributed to the poor men
some refreshments, which were most gratefully received.
Next day the "Empress," laden with sick and wounded,
started for Keokuk, Iowa. There were over thrae hun-
dred sufl'erers aboard, and the Sisters were occupied from
early morning till midnight waiting on them and endeav-
oring to soothe their depressed spirits. The "Empress"

LABORS IN THE WEST. 245

readied Keokuk on Holy Saturday, April 16, 1862. The
remoYal of the sick to the hospital began at once and
occupied two days, during which time the Sisters were
engaged in doing everything possible to ease the pains of
their patients.

On Easter Sunday they had the happiness of hearing
Mass and receiving the sacraments. The Sisters of Notre
Dame, who were present at Mass, awaited the Sisters of
Mercy at the church doors, and, knowing they were fasting,
invited them to come to their convent to breakfast. Much
as the Sisters appreciated their kindness, they were
obliged to decline, as they had to return as quickly as pos-
sible to their sick on the hospital boat. In the evening
the Visitation Nuns sent a message to invite the Sisters
of Mercy to dine at their convent. This invitation was
accepted, as the sick and wounded had had their wounds
dressed, and were made as comfortable as possible. At
the Visitation Convent they received much kindness, and
had the happiness of being present at benediction. At
Mound City the Holy Cross Sisters, under Mother Angela
Gillespie, showed much kindness to the Sisters of Mercy.

Next day the "Empress" returned to Pittsburg L.and-
ing for another cargo of the sick, who were conveyed to
St. Louis. The boat made many voyages of this kind. The
Sisters strove to get delicacies of all sorts for the sick
wherever they landed, and in distributing these there
were scenes at once amusing and touching. The men
would gather around the Sisters like big children, holding
out their piece of bread and begging for "just one little
bit of jam." The Sisters, not having the heart to refuse
anyone, would give away all they had, trusting to kind
Providence to send them more. The "Empress" also made

246 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

a voyage to Louisville, where the Sisters placed under
proper care the last cargo of the sick and wounded from
the terrible battle of Shiloh. The end of May, 1862, con-
cluded five weeks' service on the hospital boat. To this
day the Sisters of Mercy express gratitude for the kind-
ness and almost reverential courtesy they experienced
during their stay with the invalid soldiers. Accustomed
to a life of seclusion and tranquillity, they did not ven-
ture on this undertaking without nerving themselves to
encounter much that might be repugnant to their nature
and profession. But none of their gloomy anticipations
were realized. They always felt that they owed a si>ecial
tribute to the brave men of both armies for the deference
and courtesy they invariably received from Confederate
and Federal alike. The soldiers under their care showed
them a child-like docility and respect, and never was a
word uttered in their presence by a warrior of either side
that could offend the most delicate ear. "If," writes one
of the survivors of the nursing band, "the man who knows
how to treat a woman with r-espect is himself worthy of
respect, then all honor to the soldiers of the war, North
and South."

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE STANTON HOSPITAL.

The authorities in Washington invite the Sisters of Mercy to take charge of
both the institutions at the capital and the Western Pennsylvania Hos-
pital, in Pittsburg. Death of the Superior of the Stanton Hospital.
Buried with military honors. President Lincoln commends the Sisters
for their self-sacrificing labors. A warm tribute from Father Canevin
how the Civil war helped to wipe out religious bigotry.

In the autumn of 1862 application was made by the
authorities in Washington to the Mother Superior of the
Sisters of Mercy for nurses to take charge of the wounded

soldiers in the Stanton Hospital
in Washington City. According-
ly, four Sisters from the mother
house in Pittsburg were apx>olnt-
ed for the work. They hastily
prepared and departed for the
scene of duty, arriving in Wash-
ington the day before Thanks-
giving. Finding that the Stan-
ton, a long row of one-story
frame buildings, was not quite ready for occupancy, the
Sisters remained for a few days with the Sisters of Mercy,
who were in charge of the Douglas Hospital then in
operation in Washington. These Sisters were members
of the Baltimore Community, founded some years pre-

(247)

248 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

viously from the house at Pittsburg. In a short time the
new hospital was opened, and the Sisters repaired thither,
and began their work by caring for one hundred and
thirty wounded soldiers, who had just been carried in
from an engagement. On December 8 four more Sisters
arrived from Pittsburg, making in all eight, which num-
ber constituted the staff of Sisters engaged in the Stanton
Hospital. Some of these did not remain until the close
of the war, but were relieved as circumstances required
by Sisters from home. These changes were not made
without necessity, as the health of several of the original
volunteers was hopelessly shattered by the severe duties
entailed upon them. To the bodily fatigue incident to
the care of so many patients was added much mental
anxiety, caused by the responsibility attending the charge
of grave cases. The successful issue in many severe sur-
gical operations depended almost entirely on the vigilance
of the nurse.

Too much praise cannot be given to the officials of
the Stanton Hospital for their careful supervision and
attention to the patients, and the unvarying kindness and
confidence reposed in the Sisters. The surgeon in charge,
Dr. John A. Liddell, and his assistant, Dr. Philip Davis,
deserve special mention. Abundant supplies of everything
needful for the sick were most liberally provided. As far
as possible no want of the patients was left ungratified.

This was a source of great satisfaction to the Sisters,
and lightened their cares considerably- What has been
said of the work of Sisters in other hospitals might be
repeated here. Their labors were arduous and unceasing.
After every battle numbers of Avounded were brought in,
and received unwearied attention dav and night. As a

THE STANTON HOSPITAL. 249

rule the soldiers appreciated the work of the Sisters,
and regarded them as their best friends. Often patients,
when convinced that the hope of recovery was gone, con-
fided their last wishes to the Sisters. They were fre-
quently called upon to send messages to the loved ones
far away, and write letters to absent friends. These and
similar acts of kindness, with words of comfort and en-
couragement, made the day more than full "pressed
down and running over" with meritorious acts. The
Sisters frequently had the consolation of witnessing
happy deathbed scenes, often of persons who, under less
favorable surroundings might not have enjoyed this
great blessing. Entire freedom of conscience was secured
to all, each patient being at liberty to summon to his side
the spiritual adviser of his choice. The Catholics were
attended by the Jesuit Fathers, among whom Revs.
Father Wagit, Brady and Roccofort were untiring in thei:
efforts to console the sick and fortify the dying with the
consolations of religion. The Sisters remained at the
Stanton until the close of the war, when, their services
being no longer required, they returned to Pittsburg,
where they resumed their usual avocations.

The Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburg
was used by the Government for a military hospital at
this time, principally for Pennsylvania soldiers. Such
men as were able to bear the fatigue of transportation
from Washington or other places were sent to this institu-
tion in order to make room at the Stanton for cases direct
from the field of battle. The Sisters of Mercy were in-
vited to give their services, a request with which they
cheerfully complied, early in 1863. In this institution the
Sisters experienced the same courtesy from the officers

250 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

as was extended to them elsewhere. Every arrangement
compatible with existing circumstances was made to
lighten their duties. In both these hospitals a chapel was
fitted up and Mass was celebrated daily, which such con-
valescent patients as desired were at liberty to attend.
The Sisters continued their work in the Pennsylvania
Hospital until May, 1865. In Washington and Pittsburg
the members of the Sanitary Commission gave very ef-
ficient aid towards alleviating the conditions of the pa-
tients by providing delicacies and reading matter. After
each visit supplies were left in the hands of the Sisters
to be distributed at their discretion.

The Douglas Hospital in Washington had been erect-
ed out of three large dwellings in the then fashionable
part of the Capital City. It was so named from the fact
that the most important of these three houses had been
the residence of the famous Senator of that name.

Sister M. Collette O'Connor was in charge of this in-
stitution, and was revered by all who became acquainted
with her. She died at the hospital, July 16, 1864, and her
remains were escorted to Baltimore and buried with mili-
tary honors.

One day President Lincoln visited the Stanton Hos-
pital in Washington. Those who were fortunate to be pres-
ent on this remarkable occasion received impressions that
should remain ever fresh in their minds. None of the
Sisters had ever met the Chief Executive, but when a
tall, angular man with just the suggestion of a stoop about
the shoulders sauntered up the path leading to the main
entrance of the hospital they intuitively knew that it
was President Lincoln. The homely, wrinlded face, with
its careworn appearance, and the patient, almost pathetic

THE STANTON HOSPITAL. 251

eyes appealed at once to the tender sensibilities of the
Sisters. They knew little, and were without leisure to
inquire, about the merits of either the Northern or South-
ern side of the bloody controversy then raging at its
height, but they had a keen appreciation of human suf-
fering and human sympathy, and their hearts went out
at once to this plain man who so uncomplainingly carried
the woes of the nation upon his shoulders.

The President went from cot to cot shaking hands
with the poor patients and addressing them in the jocular
manner he frequently employed to conceal the anguish
caused by the sight of so much suffering. On occasions
of this character the very simplicity and naturalness of
the President only served to bring his greatness into
brighter relief. The Sisters had a good opportunity of
observing the man who had been called from his modest
home in Illinois to become ruler of the Republic at the
most serious crisis in its history. They saw in him a
person who with a single stroke of the pen was destined
to liberate nearly four millions of slaves. They saw a
man who was daily performing the most painful duties
under the most trying circumstances, but who did each
act "with malice toward none; with charity for all."
They saw in him the one distinctively grand figure of the
war. They realized with others that amid the clash and
roar and smoke of battle; amid the perplexities and con-
tentions of legislative halls, and the difficulties and dif-
ferences of Cabinets, there arose pre-eminent above all
the peaceful, pathetic, powerful x>ersonality of Abraham
Lincoln.

Mr. Lincoln remained at the hospital for some time.
With the trained eye of a man of affairs he observed the

252 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

cleanlinesvS of the place, and did not fail to notice all that
the Sisters were doing for the comfort and relief of the
patients. When he departed he cordially shook hands
with each of the Sisters, and congratulated them on the
work they were performing in the cause of humanity.

Rev. J. F, Regis Canevin, rector of St. Paul's Cathe-
dral, Pittsburg, has paid a high tribute to the work of
the Sisters of Mercy in the late war. (1) A passing refer-
ence is made to some of the events already detailed in this
chapter, but it is such an able presentation of the case
that it deserves reproduction in these pages. Father
Canevin said in part :

"The Sisters went forth from their peaceful convent
homes to serve their God and country in the Stanton
Military Hospital at Washington and in the Western
Pennsylvania Hospital at Pittsburg. The military phy-
sicians regarded them as valuable assistants, and often-
times the nuns had the entire charge of the patients, ad-
ministering of medicines and arranging bandages with
deft and skillful hands.

"The Sisters had four hundred and fifty wounded
men under their care in the Stanton Hospital at one time,
and after the second battle of Fredericksburg, December
13, 1862, a number of Confederate wounded were laid side
by side with those whom they had wounded,

"■ 'It was a beautiful sight,' said one of the Sisters, 'to
see how tenderly the convalescent Union soldiers helped
to nurse back the health of those whom they had so
fiercely fought a short time before. Those who are first
in war are also first in peace.'

'' 'The bravest are the tenderest,'
" 'The loving are the daring.'

(1). In an address delivered in Pittsburg about 1890.

THE STANTON HOSPITAL. 253

"Southern sympathizers in Washington sent large
supplies of provisions and delicacies for their Confederate
friends. TVe took all they sent,' said a veteran Sister, HDut
we saw that the boys in blue fared as well as their foes.'
This was holy simplicity. At the time the Sisters were
engaged in their work of mercy in the hospitals and on
the battlefields of the North some of their companions
who had left their side a few years before were under the
shot and shell which were hurled from land and water
when Grant besieged Vicksburg, and fear and famine
stalked the Confederate camp and city. The Sisters fol-
lowed the ill-fated army through all the hard fortunes of
the struggle; nursed the sick, stanched the blood, bound
up the wounds of those who fell on the battlefield, and
spoke words of consolation and hope to the dying.

*We can read in military annals how the dying sol-
dier fancied a mother or a sister to be supporting his
head as the black-robed nun bade him confide in the
Saviour of Calvary, and poured refreshing drops on his
lips parched and quivering in the throes of death. It
was loyalty to the Divine Master that caused these women
to serve on both sides of the line.

"After the war the Vicksburg Community returned
to their convent and found their latest golden opportunity
in the South in the great yellow fever scourge of 1878,
which spread sorrow and gloom over the land, until even
hope was almost paralyzed. Yes, when fear had dissolved
all the ties which hold society together; when succor
could not be bought with gold ; when the strongest natur-
al affections yielded to the love of life, then a band of Sis-
ters of Mercy, led by the same fearless heroines from
Pittsburg who fifteen years btfore had seen duty on the

254 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

battlefield, were to be found bending over the plague-
stricken couch, praying, ever encouraging and holding up
to the last before the expiring patient the image of the
Cross.

''When the brave men of both armies had fought out
the nation's quarrel, and when the roar of cannon died
away and the smoke of battle was lifted from the land,
the bright sun of peace shone ujMDn a people more united
than they had ever been before. Religious bigotry and
sectarian hatred had received a deadly stroke. There
was more Christianity amid the rough scenes of war than
there had been in preceding years of peace. The best
blood of the Roman Catholic and of the Protestant co-
patriot had reddened the same stream and mingled on
many a well-fought field; side by side they met the charge;
side by side they repelled the shock ; side by side they fell.
In the same pit their bodies were deposited. The dew fell
from Heaven upon their union in the grave.

'^Misfortune had taught them to know and respect
and trust and love each other. Those who survived learn-
ed to despise the cowards and hypocrites and bigots who
at home, in ignorance or malice, had armed man against
his brother, and in the name of religion kept us in per-
petual conflict. The soldier descendant of the New Eng-
land Puritan, and of the Papist-hating Orangeman, dis-
covered that his Catholic comrade was a brave, generous-
hearted man, and a consistent Christian ; that the Roman
Catholic Church was not the sworn enemy of free institu-
tions; that the Sisters of that Church were kind, earnest,
hard-working, useful and devoted women in the service
of that Christ whose doctrine is that we should love one
another. And thus the Sisters of Mercy returned from

THE STANTON HOSPITAL. 255

war to find the good they and other religious women had
done had won the grateful recognition of the whole coun-
try. Thoughtful men learned from their deeds that even
a Covenanter need not fear to offend the Creator in
acknowledging that there rested a holy influence in hearts
consecrated to God."

A Sister of Mercy at Charleston, under date of Sep-
tember 23, 1865, thus writes to a friend concerning
the destitution in that city and State:

^^very phase of life has been so upturned here that
the once rich, who were wont to assist the poor, are now
wretchedly poor themselves, and are grateful for a little
of the common necessaries of life when given them. We
have called upon the Northern storekeepers here and re-
ceived some assistance from them, but we cannot call too
often. Few of our own people are able to go into busi-
ness; none can afford to give at present, though the will
is good. If, my dear lady, you can do aught in this emer-
gency, you will perform a great act of charity. Could
you see these people as we do your heart would ache. Sad
eyes swimming in tears ; little delicate hands skinned from
the wash-tub, and hearts without hope for the future, T
saw last week a lady, one of the wealthiest a short time
ago, lying on a miserable pallet, the room without furni-
ture, where she once had every comfort. The house had
been stripped of everything, linen, plate ajad wines of all
kinds; her limbs were covered with sores,occasioned by anx-
iety of mind and poverty of blood ; the result of almost star-
vation. Were this an isolated case, it could be relieved,
but, unfortunately, the city abounds in them. The plant-
ers for miles around are homeless, and are compelled to
take refuge in the city without any means of subsistence.'

256 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Sisters DeSales and DeChantel, and some five oth.er
Sisters of tlie Sisters of Mercy arrived in New York in
the latter part of 1865 from White Sulphur Springs, Mont-
gomery County, Virginia, where they were engaged at-
tending the sick and wounded soldiers in the hospital for
the last four years. They were accompanied by the R«v.
Mr. Croghan, of Charleston, who was also engaged during
the war as chaplain in the same hospital.

According to the New York News, at the time of
Lee's surrender there were over three hundred sick and
wounded at this particular hospital. It adds: ''Over
sixty of these were Federal soldiers, and not more than
two days' rations to meet their wants. The Sisters
were among strangers, having neither money nor world-
ly influence, but, compelled by the spirit of their holy
calling, they devised means to procure provisions enough
to suffice for more than six weeks for the patients and
remained with them until all had either convalesced or
died.

"About the 22d of May they proceeded to Lynchburg.
General Oregg received them at this port most courteousU
and offered them every means in his power to prosecute
their journey to Washington, where they again applied
to General Hardie for transportation to Charleston. In
this they were not successful. General Hardie refused to
send them, on the ground that, being non-combatants, no
provision had been made by the authorities in Washing-
ton for such persons. Finally, through the kindness of
some private gentleman in Washington, Father Croghan
was enabled to procure transportation to New York, where
they found themselves strangers and penniless, and with
hardly sufficient wearing apparel to enable them to ap-

THE STANTON HOSPITAL. 267

pear in public. On hearing of their embarrassing circum-
stances, the Rev. William Quinn, of St. Peter's, Barclay
street, called a few of his parishioners together on Sun-
day last with a view to raising the necessary funds to en-
able these good Sisters to return to their homes. The re-
sult was that, aided by Judge Andrew Clarke, Esq., and
a few other gentlemen, the sum of eleven hundred and
forty-eight dollars was collected in a few days. On Sat-
urday last this amount was presented to Sister DeSales,
at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, in Seventeenth street,
by a committee consisting of the Rev. William Quinn, Den-
nis Quinn and Andrew Clarke. On receiving the amount
Sister DeSales, on behalf of herself and the community she
represented, expressed her earnest thanks to the donors,
promising that their kindness should never be forgotten by
their community."

The Convent at Charleston belonging to these Sisters
was burned to the ground, having caught fire from the
shells thrown Into the city during the bombardment of
the Federal forces.

CHAPTER XXIV.

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH.

The Surgeon General applies for nurses to care for the sick soldiers in Camp
Curtin, Harrisburg. Bishop Wood gives a ready assent. Their valuable
Services at the State Capital. An official letter of thanks from Governor
Curtin. Down the James River in the Commodore to bring the wounded
from the battlefield of Yorktown. A poor soldier abandoned in an isolated
tent. Rescued from death itself. A grateful patient.

In January, 1862, Dr. Henry H, Smith, Surgeon -Gen-
eral of tlie State of Pennsylvania, applied to Rev. Mother
St. John at the Mt. St. Joseph Convent, Chestnut Hill,
Philadelphia, for Sisters to serve as
nurses of the sick soldiers in Camp Cur-
tin, Harrisburg, saying he had had ex-
perience of the Sisters' efficiency in nurs-
ing while he attended at St Joseph's
Hospital in Philadelphia, and felt they
wonld be able to do good work at the
State Capital.

Bishop Wood, to whom the Doctor
had spoken of the matter, gave ready
assent, and writing on the 22d of the same month,
the Doctor speaks of the arrangements for the Sisters'
journey as having been effected, and adds: "The Doctor
hopes the Sisters will not disappoint him. Whilst beset

(258)

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH. 2ry,^

by applicants, every female nurse has been refused, J)r.
Smith being unwilling to trust any but his old friends,
the Sisters of St. Joseph. There is a large field of useful-
ness, but it is to be properly cultivated only by those
whose sense of duty will induce them to sacrifice personal
comfort. The living is rough, the pay poor, and nothing
but the sentiments of religion can render the nurses
contented."

On January 23 three Sisters under the direction of
Mother Monica Pue, went to Harrisburg, and on the fol-
lowing day the Surgeon-General took them to Camp Curtin
Hospital, which he placed under their charge. At the
camp there were then about three thousand militia. The
hospital was merely a temporary frame building, roughly
put together, and to make the apartments at all habitable
blankets and other such improvised tapestry had to be
hung over the boards. The Sisters arrived at the hospital
towards evening. They found that three matrons had
been in charge, and with them a number of the soldiers
acting as nurses. The reception accorded the Sisters
was not at all cordial. One man had been given the charge
of seeing to the Sisters' wants, and coming to them he
asked what they wished to have for supper, saying: "I
know that the discipline of the Church is bread and
water, but I do not know what you ladies may want to
have." The Sisters replied that anything would do, and
were shortly afterwards summoned to the table the nurses
had just left in a most uninviting condition. The viands
were left untasted, and the Sisters began to see what work
was before them, and to arrange matters accordingly.

It was not long before the sick soldiers as well as
those employed in the hospital began to feel the beneficial
16

260 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

effects of the Sisters' care, and their efficiency in hospital
administration; and the respectful attentions and mili-
tary salutes of the men became almost oppressive. Bishop
Wood paid several visits to the Sisters at the camp, and
also to the Church Hospital, Harrisburg, where three
Sisters, under charge of Sr. Mary John, afterward the
Rev. Mother of the Community, took charge of the sick,
who, among the arriving militia, were unable to proceed
as far as the camp.

Finding themselves always addressed by the phy-
sicians as "Sisters of Charity" or "Mercy," the Sisters
drew the Surgeon-Greneral's attention to the misnomer,
but he replied that the name accorded with their work,
and it would be no use in trying to explain to the doctors
about the different orders. Hence in all newspaper re-
ports and in various accounts of their work given at the
time the Sisters were always mentioned as Sisters of
Charity or Mercy, which they took as another sign that
their patron, St. Joseph, desired them to labor as he
had done, in silence and obscurity, unknown and unnoticed
by the world.

On the 2d of February the Surgeon-General, after
visiting the hospitals, wrote to Mother St. John: "I have
found all the Sisters perfectly well, and with no com-
plaints after their trial of the inconveniences and expos-
ure attendant on military life. Already each hospital
shows the blessing attendant on their presence. Every-
thing is now neat, orderly and comfortable. Sr. P. is 'Cap-
tain of the Ward' in the camp hospital, and has a drummer
boy to attend her. Sister C. in the kitchen is also in
authority, and has a sentry at the kitchen door. * * *
Sr. M. is 'the Major,' and commands the surgeons, keeping

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH. 261

tliem in good humor by lier kind acts. All seem happy
and contented, and the Governor and others speak fre-
quently of the good move made in bringing them there.
* * * At the Church Hospital Sister C. shines in
the refectory, and everything is in excellent order."

On the 18th of the same month the doctor called
for more Sisters, adding, however, '^Matters are so un-
settled by the recent victories I am at a loss whether to
send for extra help. There are rumors of closing the
camp or rather of giving it up to the United States."

What Dr. Smith had anticipated came to pass; the
soldiers at Camp Curtin were called to the front, and
the Sisters left the Church Hospital March 27, and Camp
Curtin April 8, '62. It was indeed touching to see the
difference between the reception the men had given the
Sisters on their coming and the feeling of sorrow that
marked their parting with them. Many of the men sobbed
aloud, and the Sisters themselves were deeply moved
at the thought of how many, who were starting off in
health and strength, would ere long meet a sad and
painful death.

On the 14th of April, by order of Governor Curtin,
the following letter was sent by Dr. Smith to Madam St.
John, Superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph:

"Madam: — During a period of several weeks, amidst
the confusion of a constantly changing camp, and amidst
an epidemic of measles, with typhoid fever, etc., six of
'The Sisters of St. Joseph,' sacrificing all personal com-
fort, ministered faithfully and truly to the comfort and
welfare of the sick. Neatness, order and efficient minis-
tration immediately followed their arrival in the camp.

"Highly appreciating their valuable services and
Christian devotion to the relief of human suffering, the

262 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

State authorities desire to express to them and your order
high appreciation of the self-sacrificing spirit which they
exhibited among the sicli soldiers, both at Camp Curtin
and the Church Hospital in Harrisburg.
"By order of

"A. G. CUKTIN, Governor of Pennsylvania."

Dr. Smith himself wrote : — "It affords me pleasure to
transmit the accompanying order, acknowledging the
valuable services of the Sisters recently engaged at Har-
risburg. * * * In the event of a fight at Yorktown
I shall go there with a party on a steamboat and stop
at Fortress Monroe. If some hardy Sisters will volunteer
for duty with me I will perhaps be able to take them. The
notice will not be more than six hours. * * * x will
share the exposure with them, and will do all that is pos-
sible to make them comfortable, bringing them back
with the wounded, unless you allow them to stay. Your
Order is, I believe, the only one that is doing duty with
the army. I think they can do much good, under my

care. Sr, will be especially useful in cooking for

the wounded in the boat I shall take at the Fortress."

On the 18th the orders came, and, under the escort
of Captain Bankson, U. S. A., three Sisters went to Bal-
timore and thence to Fortress Monroe. On the 26th the
Doctor sent a request for six more Sisters, promising
plenty of occupation.

In a letter dated April 27, 1862, Archbishop Wood,
after naming the Sisters detailed "for attendance on the
wounded and sick soldiers under the direction of Dr.
Henry Smith, Surgeon-General of the Pennsylvania Vol-
unteers," adds "We commend them to the kind care and
protection of the Surgeon-General, and to the attention
of all persons, ecclesiastical and civil, with whom they

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH. 263

may be in any way associated, holding it as a special and
personal favor bestowed on ourselves."

On April 21, writing from Fortress Monroe, the Doc-
tor informs Mother St. John that the Sisters on their ar-
rival had been put at once on hospital duty, and were doing
much needed work, especially in the preparation of sick
diet, etc. He adds: "They are sure to be appreciated.
* * * They come into friendly competition with a
party of nurses under the direction of Miss Dix. They
will win the good will and opinion of all."

The three Sisters first ^ent were again under the
direction of Mother Monica Pue. They were kindly and
eagerly welcomed by Dr. Smith, who, with the aid of a
spy-glass, saw the boat approaching and hurried to meet
them. There were then some sick and wounded on board
the floating hospital, the "Whillden." Other Sisters went
down later under charge of one of the hospital surgeons,
who, poor man, was anything but pleased with being
detailed to act as escort to five ladies. But all his fears,
as he afterwards declared, were rpeedily dispelled when
he found his office rather a sinecure, since the Sisters did
not call on him for the thousand and one attentions
it had been his fortune to have been called on to give
while attending secular ladies.

At Fortress Monroe they went aboard the two float-
ing hospitals, the "Whillden" and the "Commodore." On
May 3 they had the great consolation of receiving the
Sacraments from Kev. Father Dillon, of the Congregation
of the Holy Cross, who drove up and down the Camp by
Fortress Monroe, hearing the confessions of the soldiers.
He said Mass on board the "Commodore" May 3 and 4.

On May 6, in company with the Surgeon-General and
his assistants, three of the Sisters went down the James

261 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

River in the ''Commodore" to bring up tlie wounded from
the battlefield of Yorktown. All night from 5 P. M. tiU
2 A, M. of next day the wounded were being carried to the
vessel on stretchers. Harrowing, indeed, were the scenes
that there met their eye, and sad it was to find how in-
adequate were their efforts to fully assuage the terrible
sufferings of the victims. But all that could be done
was done, and the supply of coffee and stimulants was
thankfully received by those who for days had languished
without any attentions. A company of Pennsylvania
Volunteers, whom the Sisters met near the landing had
not had any food for two, and some for three days, the
steamer laden with provisions having been unaccount-
ably delayed. On their way up the river the "Commo-
dore" passed the vessel with the longed-for supply of food
on its way down to the men.

Among the wounded were many of the Southern
soldiers, who had been taken prisoners; and they seemed
particularly grateful for the attentions of the religious.
The wounded lay in rows along the decks of the steamers,
and in the state rooms, so close together that it was al-
most impossible to pass along without treading on them.

On May IG Dr. Smith wrote to Mother St John : "The
Sisters have given universal satisfaction, and have done
much good. It will be acknowledged hereafter in proper
form. In the meantime I should like to take six of them
with me again, ending perhaps at Richmond." Six of
the Sisters came up with the wounded on the "Commo-
dore" to the port of Philadelphia, and stayed with them
until they had all been removed to the different hospitals
of the city. After a few days' rest they returned to re-
ceive the wounded from the battle fought near Richmond.

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH. 265

Meanwhile the camp at Harrisburg had been re-
opened, and three Sisters were again called to attend the
hospital. One of them relates that on her rounds about
the place on their return she saw an isolated tent by
the door of which lay a coffin. To her inquiries an of-
ficer replied that in the tent there was a man dying of
camp feyer. She inquired whether it was possible to
save the man, and, on hearing that it was not known,
declared her intention of going to see. The officer refused
to allow her to go in, saying it would be suicide, as she
could not go without contracting the fever. She, however,
persisted, and entering the tent, beheld a man in appar-
ently a state of collapse. For days, it would seem, he had
received very little attention, and the filth of the bed and
floor was indescribable. That day the poor patient had
had nothing but a drink of water. The Sister at once
prepared and gave him a bowl of stimulating broth. He
became sufficiently strong to tell .her he was from St.
Paul's Parish, Philadelphia. '■ The priest, Rev. Father
Maher, of Harrisburg, was &enz for. In the meantime, by
dint of warnings and entreaties, the Sister got two of the
male nurses to lift the man from the bed, to which parts
of his body adhered. The floor was cleansed, the man
washed, his sores attended to, and then the priest came,
heard his confession and gave him the last Sacraments,
and Immediately his recovery seemed to set in. His
gratitude was touching in the extreme. The Sisters had
word sent to his wife in Philadelphia that she might
be able to have him removed home, but before she came
they themselves had been recalled from what to them was
a blessed field of labor.

On June 9, 1862, Dr. Smith wrote to Mother St. John,
saying: "The United States have agreed; to take charge

266 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD,

of all the state hospitals. * * * i have requested
the Sisters at Harrisburg to return to you and hope I
shall not have again to trouble you until the v^ar is end-
ed. The Sisters did great good, were very kind and
useful. All will be acknowledged in due time." Several
of the Sisters who attended the soldiers have already
entered on their reward, and rest in the beautiful ceme-
tery of Mt. St. Joseph, where on Decoration Day the Sis-
ters and children love to pay special attention to the
graves of those departed ones "of the Soldiers of Christ
who went out to attend on the soldiers of war."

No words could adequately express the gratitude of
the Sisters for the delicate and fatherly attentions they
received from Surgeon-General Smith and his corps of
assistants. Dr. Smith was truly "one of Nature's noble-
men," with a soul free from every taint of prejudice,
with a heart open to every phase of human suffering and
a charity that never wearied in alleviating the horrors of
war. (1).

(1). The fiftieth anniversary of the foundation in Philadelphia of
the Sisters of St. .Joseph was celebrated May 5, 1897, at the Mount
St. Joseph's Novitiate, in Chestnut Hill. About ninety priests from
Philadelphia and adjacent dioceses were present, and the venerable
Monsignor Cantwell, who, with Bishop O'Hara, of Scranton, was
the only one then living who extended the hand of welcome to the
three Sisters who came from St. Louis fifty years previous, was
among the guests. There were present also about two hundred vis-
iting Sisters from the various Catholic institutions in the city and
several from Rochester, N. Y., and Flushing. L. I. Archbishop
Ryan made a brief address of congratulation to the pupils and the
community. He said that forty-five years ago he knew the Sisters of
the St. Louis Community, and that he had watched their astounding
growth with much interest. He paid a glowing tribute to the be-
neficence and charity of the community, and prayed that God
would cause them to prosper in the future as He had done in the
past.

CHAPTER XXV.

SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS.

The heroic life and labors of Mother Angela. A cousin of the late James G.
Blaine. She gives up her school at South Bend, Ind., to serve through
the war. A historic meeting between Mother Angela and General Grant
Rev. L. A. Lambert, the chaplain at Mound City. Sixty Sisters of the
Holy Cross on duty. Sister Angela, of the Visitation Community, and
her love for the soldiers.

Mother Angela, of tlie Holy Cross Sisterss, was one of
the most devoted nurses in any of the orders that served
during the civil war. She was a woman of high birth and

considerable refinement. She
came from a well-known Penn-
sylvania Irish family — the Gil-
lespies. It was from this family
that James Gillespie Blaine
was so named. She was a cou-
sin of the illustrious man, and
was also related to the Ewings
and the Shermans. Her par-
ents migrated from Pennsyl-
vania to Illinois while she was quite young, and her educa-
tion was received at the Academy of the Visitation, in
Washington, D. C. Mother Angela always had a high re-
gard for Blaine. She was intimately acquainted with the
details of his early life and his home at Brownsville, Pa.
^o those in whom she placed great confidence she ^requent-

(2671

268 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Ij gave touching incidents of tlie young man's early career,
and on more than one occasion she repelled slanders which
were no doubt implicitly believed by the public at large.
She became connected with the Holy Cross Sisters many
years before the war. When the first gun was fired at
Sumter Mother Angela was in charge of a flourishing
school at South Bend. When the need for nurses became
pressing this was given up, the scholars returned to their
homes, and the Sister teachers volunteered their services
to those in charge of the hospitals. Mother Angela, was
sent out by the Very Eev. Father Sourin, Superior Gen-
eral of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, whose head
house was at Notre Dame, Indiana.

The following is an extract from the Circular Letter
issued October 21, 1861, by Father Serin, who was the
founder of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in the United
States :

"My Dear Daughters in Jesus Christ:

"Among the distressing features of the times^ I am glad
to convey you some consoling news, for, however much we
deplore the distracted state of our country, we find a grat-
ification in being able to assuage some of its sorrows. . .

A most honorable call has been made on your com-
munity by the First Magistrate in our State, asldng for
twelve Sisters to go and attend the sick, the wounded and
dying soldiers. . . . The call has been unhesitating-
ly responded to, and this afternoon six Sisters of Holy
Cross started for Paducah. Six more start within a week.
They are all chosen from a large number of vol-
unteers; and if we judge of their sentiments by the joy
with which they have received their selection, we have
reason to believe that they duly a,p;preciate the honor and
favor bestowed upon them.

SISTERS OF THE HOLY CKOSS. 269

"It is well Imown that in the Crimean War the Sisters
of Charity literally covered themselves with glory before
men, and, doubtless, with merits before God. When the
record of our present struggles will be handed down to pos-
terity will it not be a source of joy for the Church to be
able to show, in every rank of society, many a glorious
name generously sacrificed for the rescue of the country?

"But why should we be left out of the list? If the
Standard of the Cross, under which we have enlisted,
knows no enemies among men; if our objects, on the con-
trary, is to rally them all under the precious emblem of
our salvation, our little army stands arrayed against the
enemy of mankind, the spirit of darkness, and all the evils
and the wounds which he has inflicted on humanity.
Hence, wherever there is a pain to soothe, a pang to re-
lieve, a bleeding heart or limb to treat or dress, there is a
field for us to enter, under pain of deserting our noble ban-
ner. . . . What a joy it would bring to the apostolic
heart of our venerated founder (Father Moreaux) to hear
of this heroic act of charity undertaken by this little van-
guard of his company in the New World ! It is in his name
I have blessed them, and they may rest assured that while
they follow the fortunes of the battlefields of the nation,
he, like Moses, will be praying for them on the mountain
top. We, too, shall persevere with him in prayer in their
behalf. In all our Houses there shall be offered for them a
General Communion every Saturday, that they may fully
discharge the important trust they have received."

Mother Angela met many of the great generals of the
war, and they all united in declaring her a woman of mar-
velous executive ability. Besides this she had ms.jij other
accomplishments of a high order. Although she was the
Mother in charge, she gave her personal attention to many
of the patients. On several historic occasions she waited
upon Confederate and Union soldiers at the same time.

270 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

"Johnny Reb," as he was facetiously called, and the
"Yank" would lie in cots side by side, with the peaceful
face of Mother Angela between them. Often men lying
helpless on their backs would get into heated disputes over
the relative merits of the war, and but for their physical
disability would have done each other violence. The Sis-
ters alone possessed the power to quell these quarrels,
and they did it with all the tact and diplomacy becoming
their gentle natures.

The story of the first meeting between General Grant
and Mother Angela comes from an eye-witness of that his-
toric episode, and can be vouched for as strictly correct.
Grant was just then beginning to develop the traits of a
leader, which were to mark him later as the greatest cap-
tain of his time. His headquarters were in an old brick
building that had formerly served as a bank in Cairo.
Mother Angela came to this place to report for duty to
General Grant. She was accompanied by the late Dr.
Brlnton, an honored physician of Philadelphia, and Rev.
Louis A. Lambert, D. D., LL. D. (1).

Dr. Lambert, who was to act in the capacity of chap
lain, escorted Mother Angela into Grant's presence. The
great Captain was seated at a desk behind the iron bars,
which had evidently been formerly used by the cashier
of the bank. He was writing with the air of a man who
was absorbed in his task and unconscious of his surround-

(1). Father L.Miibert is one of the most notable priests in the
United States. > lis ancestors on his mother's side came over with
William Penn «) d eventually settled in Mt. Holly, N. J. Father
Lambert had s-^ ne very interesting experiences as an army chaplain.
He is a writer of some note and has been a worker in Catholic
journalism for many years. His best known work is probably his
"Notes on Ingersoll," which had a tremendous sale.

LEE, JACKSON AND BEAUREGARD

SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS. 271

ings. An ordinary cheap pipe was in his mouth, and every
now and then he mechanically blew forth a cloud of smoke.
The characteristics of the man so well-known in later years
were just as pronounced then. The people all around him
were plainly agitated with the thought of the great war
that was about to rage in all its fury. He sat at his work
calm, silent, and with an imperturbability of countenance
that was sphinx-like. Dr. Brinton, who had been one of
the first to suggest the Sisters, introduced Mother Angela
to Grant. The Greneral came out from behind the iron
grating with his feead bare, and, taking Mother Angela's
hand, gave it a h arty shake. The pipe he had been smok-
ing was tempor rily laid aside. There was a moment's si-
lence, and then Grant, looldng at his visitor with a pleas-
ant smUe, said :

"I am glad to have you with us, very glad."
There was a pause for a second, and then he added :
"If there is anything at all I can do for you I will be
glad to do it. I thoroughly appreciate the value of your
services, and I will give orders to see that you do not want
for anything."

After a few more minutes of general conversation, in
which Dr. Brinton and Father Lambert joined, Mother
Angela and the Sisters started for their mission at Mound
City. In later years General Grant frequently expressed
profound admiration for Mother Angela, not only as a
nurse, but as a woman of unusual ability.

Grant about this period in his career was one of the
most interesting characters of the war. It is curious to note
the various estimates of ,his character. The following ex-
tract from a letter written from the "front" during the

272 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

closing months of the war furnishes a striking pen picture
of the man:

"In his manners, dress and style of living Grant dis-
plays more republican simplicity than any other general
officer in the army. In manner he is very unassuming and
approachable, and his conversation is noticeable from
its unpretending, plain and straightforward style. There
is nothing didactic nor pedantic in his tone or language.
His rhetoric is more remarkable for the compact structure
than the elegance and finish of his sentences. He talks
practically, and writes as he talks, and his language, writ-
ten and oral, is distinguished by strong common sense.

"He seldom indulges in figurative language; but
when he does his comparisons betray his habits of close
observation. He dresses in a careless, but by no means
slovenly manner. Though his uniform conforms to army
regulations in cut and trimmings, it is often like that of
Sherman— worn threadbare. He never wears any article
which attracts attention by its oddity, except, indeed, the
three stars which indicate his rank. His wardrobe when
campaigning is generally very scant, while his headquar-
ters train is often the smallest in the army. For several
months past he has been living in a log hut of unpretend-
ing dimensions on the James River, sleeping on a com-
mon camp-cot, and eating at a table common to all his
staff, plainly furnished with good roast beef, pork and
beans, 'hard-tack' and coffee.

"It is related of the General that when the march
to the rear of Vicksburg began he announced to his army
the necessity of 'moving light,' i, e., without extra bag-
gage. He set an example by sending to the rear all his
baggage except a green briar-root pipe, a tooth-brush and
a horn pocket-comb. The story of his appearance in the
Senate chamber in February last is still fresh in the minds
of the public. He had no sooner left the hall after paying

SISTEKS OF THE HOLY CROSS. 273

his respects to the Senators than one of the Democratic
members rose and asked the consideration of the Senate
npon what he termed the evident and gross mistake which
had been made in appointing Grant a. Lieutenant General,
and declared it to be his opinion that 'there was not a sec-
ond lieutenant of the Home Guard of his State who did
not "cut a bigger swell" than this man who had just left
their presence.'"

Mother Angela's party after leaving General Grant
had quite an experience in reaching their destina-
tion. The wagon which had been detailed as their
conveyance broke down when they were half way thither,
and there was some diflSculty in patching it up sufficiently
to finish the journey. But it was done, and the Sisters
eventually reached Mound City, and began their work of
mercy in the hospital located there. Sister Ferdinand
was a fellow laborer with Mother Angela at this time.
Father Lambert, the chaplain, attended the Post Hospital
at Mound City and said Mass at 4 o'clock in the morning
for the benefit of Mother Angela and her Sisters.

There was one incident that was kept quiet and which
did not become generally known until after the war.
Small-pox was raging at the time, and one of the brave Sis-
ters was stricken down. She was hastily stowed away in
a garret of the hospital building and a special guard placed
over her. She recovered, and after that devoted hersell
to nursing others with even more zeal than she had shown
before she was stricken down. Ordinarily small-pox cases
were sent to the pest house, but in this instance the tender-
ness of the Sisters would not permit them to part with
their afflicted colleague. It was against the rules, to be
sure, but who can blame the Sisters for this merciful

274 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

breach of discipline? It is only proper to state that the
case was so isolated that not one of the twelve hundred
patients was affected even in the remotest degree. One
who was in the hospital at tliis time says that he is not cer-
tain but that the Surgeon General knew of the hidden
case.

There were between 1200 and 1400 patients in the hos-
pital, and all received the kindest care and attention.
Mother Angela served through all the war, winning ex-
traordinary distinction for tact, diplomacy and faithful-
ness.

The official communication written by Commander
Davis after a battle on White River, June 17, 1862, in-
dicates that Mother Angela was not unknown to the
authorities.

U. S. Flag Steamer Benton, Memphis, June 20, 1862.
Hon. Gideon Wells, Secretary of the Navy.

Sir: — The number of men on board the hospital boat
lied Rover is forty-one. The account given me yester-
day was incorrect. I shall still wait for further
knowledge before presenting a final report of the cas-
ualties attending the capture of the St. Charles forts.
The Department will be gratified to learn that the pa-
tients are, most of them, doing well. * * * Sister
Angela, the Superior of the Sisters of the Holy Cross
(some of whom are performing their offices of mercy at
the Mound City Hospital), has kindly offered the serv-
ices of the Sisters for the hospital boat of this squadron
when needed. I have written to Commander Reuuock to
make arrangements for their coming.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully your obedient
servant, CHARLES H. DAVIS,

Flag Ofiicer Commanding Western Flotilla.

SISTEES OF THE HOLY CROSS. 275

Tke Catholic Mirror, under date of November 8, 1862,
records the following :

"A fourth colony of these devoted Sisterhoods has set
forth on its mission of mercy, to serve in the hospitals of
Washington, as they already serve so faithfully at Mem-
phis, Cairo and Mound City. The Hospital of St. Aloysius,
erected in a week by Catholic charity, fired by the zeal of
the dead Jesuit Fathers, call them to its succor; and they,
fully responding to the holy fervor which built these hos-
pitals from the very overflowings of love to Grod and of res -
erence for the tabernacle in which dwells the Holy of Hol-
ies, will fill up the measure of these by ministei-ing to the
wants of the sick and sorrowing and forlorn, the objects
of His love who died on Calvary, and renders daily His
sacrifice for their success, and the holy temple thus saved
by piety from desecration.

"Who has not heard of the Jesuit Fathers? Theii
fame has spread throughout the earth ; and yet so silently
they work, so sublimely concealed their burning zeal, that
but for an occasion like the present, when the influence
they possess over the human soul manifested itself by a
simultaneous impulse that cannot be repressed, they for
the most part live a hidden, unobtrusive life — a life which
makes the surer the good they invariably effect — for near
400 years the devoted sons of St. Ignatius toiled like
their founder in striving to hide from the world the in-
dividuals who achieved a good that will not be hidden ; and
it seems a sort of sacrilege to withdraw the veil that hides
this good even partially from the world. "V^Tien we think
of what the Jesuits have done through long ages, our heart
burns, our spirit fires, and in our heart of hearts perceive
that men who do good in every age, without being tainted
with the spirit of any age, demand from us reverence and
not praise.

'^Tien, then, we heard of the last demonstration of
zeal, of Catholic zeal, stirred up by the Jesuit Fathers, we
17

276 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

felt no extraordinary surprise, we manifested no extra-
ordinary exultation; a tranquil happines stole over us;
we thanked God that St. Ignatius still lived in his sons,
and that, great as was the work of building St. Aloysius
Hospitals in six days, a far greater work, though a more
hidden one, is being daily, hourly, performed by these de-
voted soldiers of the Church.

"But, meantime, the hospital of St. Aloysius is a
fact; in Washington, hospitals to form a refuge for tJie
sick, measuring six hundred feet by twenty-six, are in act-
ual existence, erected spontaneously by Catholic charity,
and purposing to be watched over also by Catholic char-
ity, for the Sisters of the Holy Cross are already on the v^ay
to take charge of such inmates as this unhappy war shall
bring within its precincts.

"Mrj they prosper in their mission at Washinj'.-ton, as
at Memphis, Mound City and at Cairo; may they bring
balm to the wounded heart as they bandage the ^v^ounded
limb; and may the blessings they bring to others react
upon themselves to enable them to lead more and more ful-
ly the life of recollection every true religious coi'ets, even
while pursuing the apparently distracting occupations of
attending the sick and wounded! In bringing to the bed-
side the comforts of a soul in constant and habitual com-
munication with God, by the faithfulness in which are per-
formed the religious exercises prescribed by the rule, a
Sister of Holy Cross can scarcely fail to dispense treasures
far more valuable than the gold and silver of the world.

'TBCow many are the souls aided in their ])assage to
eternity! How many reclaimed from a life of sin! How
many taught to bless the temporary suffering which
brought them acquainted with the peace that passeth all
understanding! The annals of these deeds are hidden
now ; but on the Day of Judgment they will stand forth and
praise the religious, who, by her spirit of prayer, was en-
abled to perform these 'miracles of the soul.' "

SISTEES OF THE HOLY CROSS. 277

Tlie following communication, signed "P," and ad-
dressed to the editor of the New York Tablet, on April 12,
1862, is interesting, not only in particularizing the order in
question, but in affording another glimpse of Mother An-
gela:

"In your issue of the 22d I find a notice of the military
hospital at Mound City. There is a mistake in that article
which I am sure you will willingly rectify. The Sisters who
are in charge there are not the 'Sisters of Charity;' thej^
are the 'Sisters of the Holy Cross,' from their Convent of
St. Mary's, St. Joseph's County, Indiana. Under the direc-
tion of their Superioress, Mother St. Angela, these pious
Sisters have had for some time the charge of the hospitals
at Cairo, Mound City and Paducah. Upon their arrival,
about the beginning of October, all the other female nurses
were dispensed with, and the Sisters assumed the entire
control of the wards, each Sister having the care of one
ward.

"When it became Imown throughout the West that
Mother Angela and her Sisters had assumed this arduous
position, hundreds of her friends hastened to forward to
her care large supplies of clothing and linen suitable for
hospital purposes. She even made a journey to Chicago
for the purpose of obtaining supplies, and right nobly did
the citizens respond to her call. There are now over thirty
Sisters there, who are almost exhausted by their incessant
labors; they know no rest night or day. Fourteen hun-
dred wounded men are hourly receiving at their hands
such care as can only be bestowed by pious souls who
look for their reward not on earth but in heaven.

"It must be a great consolation to the relatives and
friends of our gallant soldiers to know that they are at-
tended on their beds of pain and suffering by such nurses.
Wherever a Sister moves she has the prayers and bless-
ings of the poor soldier, and the thanks and gratitude of

278 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

the oflScers. Beside whatever bed death has laid his hand,
there is seen a Sister seeking to alleviate the suffering
of the patient and to prepare the parting soul for the judg-
ment so soon to be pronounced upon it."

The following reference to the Holy Cross Sisters
from the pen of Father Corby is apropos:

"Sixty Sisters of the Holy Cross went out under Moth-
er Angela. These Sisters volunteered their services to
nurse the sick and the wounded soldiers,hundreds of whom,
moved to sentiments of purest piety by the words and ex-
ample of these angel nurses, begged to be baptized in ar-
ticulo mortis — at the point of death. The labors and self-
sacrifice of the Sisters during the war need no praise here.
The praise is on the lips of every surviving soldier who ex-
perienced their kind and careful ministration. Many a
soldier now looks down from on high with complacency on
the worth}' Sisters who were instrumental in saving the
soul when life could not be saved. Nor was it alone from
the Order of the Sisters of the Holy Cross that Sister
nurses engaged in the care of the sick and wounded sol-
diers. Many other orders made costly sacrifices to save
life and to save souls, notably the noble Order of the Sis-
ters of Charity. To members of this order I am personally
indebted. When prostrate with camp fever, insensible for
nearly three days, my life was entrusted to their care.
Xike guardian angels these Daughters of St. Vincent
"watched every symptom of the fever, and by their skill and
care I was soon able to return to my post of duty." (1).

One of the interesting features of the charitable work
of the war came to the notice of Mother Angela in the early
part of 1864. It was a donation of flOOO from Pope Pius
the IX for the relief of the sick and wounded soldiers.
Through Cardinal Baruabo the Pope expressed to Bishop

(1). Prom Father Corby's "Memoirs of Chaplain Life."

SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS. 279

Timon, of Buffalo, his tender sympathy for the sufferings
of the many wounded, and requested the Bishop to give,
in the Pope's name, |oOO to aid in alleviating the suffering
of the wounded soldiers in the Northern army, and the
same amount for the same object for the Southern sol-
diers. Bishop Timon gave |500 to Mrs. Horatio Seymour,
president of the Sanitary Commission, to aid our wound-
ed soldiers, and $500 to Miss D. L. Dix, to be applied in
procuring for wounded Southern prisoners in the hos-
pitals any additional comforts which might be deemed
useful.

The following incident concerning Mother Angela's
war experiences is from the pen of Eliza Allen Starr:

During the early days of the war and the hospital ser-
vice we all know how inadequate were the supplies for the
sick and wounded; how meagre the equipments for the
hospital nurses. A poor, little circular stovepipe served
the indefatigable Mother Angela, on which to prepare with
her own skillful hands the early cup of gruel for her pa-
tients, rising as four, or, if need were, at three in the morn-
ing to answer the first call of the sufferers; and the char-
acter of the stores provided was such as few could realize
one year later. At this time the Commissary Board sent
a visitor to the camp and hospital where Mother Angela
and her Sisters were stationed. During all these months
nothing could exceed the courtesy of the officers, who al-
ways shared any choice provisions which came to them
with the Sisters, as they supposed, while the Sisters as
scrupulously passed on to their patients everything which
could tempt the sick appetite, sharing, in fact, only the
rations served regularly to the hospital wards. When the
Commissary visitor arrived he was duly escorted to the

280 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

liospital, wMch excited his warmest approbation for its
order, neatness, comfort of every sort ; but as lie was bow-
ing himself out in the most complimentary manner from
the presence of Mother Angela and her band of Sisters,

she said to him: "But, Mr. , you must allow us to

show you some hospitality. Pardon our lack of silver and
porcelain, but take a cup of hospital tea!" "Thank you,
thank you. Mother Angela, but I have taken dinner al-
ready with the officers, and need nothing." "Allow me to
insist!" and before another excuse could be urged a Sis-
ter appeared with a snow-white napkin and the tincup
and spoon of the hospital and — the anything than fragrant
beverage of hospital tea, "Sugar, Sister," said the sweetly-
ringing voice of the gentlewoman, Mother Angela, and be-
fore oru Commissary visitor could wave off this fresh spe-
cimen of hospital luxury. Mother Angela had dumped into
the tin cup what resembled the scrapings of the molasses
barrel more than sugar. Our Commissary visitor was a
gentleman from the toe of his boot to the crown of his
head, and he drank the cup of tea, well stirred, to its dregs,
without a grimace, bowing as he handed the empty tincup
to the Sister, while Mother Angela rubbed her little hands
with unmistakable glee, and the full merriment of laugh-
ing eyes, as she said : "I knew, Mr. , you would wish

to taste of our hospital tea !" And the Commissary visitor
vowed in his heart as he turned from the hospital door
that the next train, on his arrival home, should take, as he
said in his letter to Mother Angela, such stores to her
own and to every hospital under his charge as a Christian
man could accept without shame from the hand of any hos-
pital nurse in the land."

There was another Sister Angela who was prominent

SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS. 281

during the civil war, but who was not so conspicuous as
her illustrious namesake. She is thus referred to in a
recent work : (2),

"Sister Angela became a member of the Community
(Visitation Sisters) about 1819. She was one of those char-
acters who convey to the mind the image of a soul of spot-
less innocence. She celebrated her golden jubilee and
lived for several years afterwards, retained to the last her
full mental faculties and childlike simplicity.She was made
Superioress of the foundation in Philadelphia. On the
breaking up of the house there she was recalled to George-
town. Then for twelve years at different times she
served as Superioress of Georgetown Convent and gov-
erned with a gentle firmness and a lovely spirit of fore-
bearance; enduring the many trials incidental to authority
with the utmost patience.

. "During the civil war her energy and wisdom shon''
forth especially. She was at that time most generous in
trying to aid poor chaplains, and she showed a true zeal
for souls in the advice she gave to soldiers who applied to
her for help. Her charity was remembered, as the nuns
of Georgetown had reason to realize not long ago, during
the encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, when
one of the veterans called to see "Sister Angela," not know-
ing she had been dead several years. The veteran gave
as his reason for desiring to see her that the angelic Su-
perioress had converted him. Whenever worn out with
marching and laden with dust, regiments halted in front
of the Convent during the war, a liberal lunch was served
to the weary soldiers, and objects of piety sent out to those
who wanted them by Sister Angela."

(2). A "Story of Courage," by Rose Hawthorne and Greorge Par-
sons Lathrop,

CHAPTER XXVI.

MOTHER ANGELA.

Related to many eminent men of the century ; her tranquil death in the con-
vent in Indiana ; her ability as a writer and an educator. An incident of
the war told by her in a powerful and dramatic style. The original of a
Holy Cross Sister portrayed in a poem.

Mother Angela, who performed
such valiant service as the head of
the Holy Cross Sisters, departed this
life on March 4, 1887. Her death
was so calm and peaceful that it
seemed as though she were gliding
into slumber rather than passing
from life into eternity. "Mother
Mary of St. Angela" was the name
of this devoted woman, who was previously known to
the world as Eliza Maria Gillespie.

As stated in the preceding chapter Mother Angela
was of distinguished lineage. Her godfather, the elder
Thomas Ewing, was one of the great Whigs and Secretary
of State under President William Henry Harrison. James
Gillespie Blaine, her first cousin, was the idol of his party,
member of Congress, United State Senator, Secretary of
State, and the Republican candidate for the Presidency.

(282)

MOTHER ANGELA. 283

General William T. Sherman, another relative, ranked
second only to Grant among the Union generals in the civU
war. Phil. B. Ewing, her brother-in-law, won the reputa-
tion of an eminent jurist in Ohio. "Young Tom" Ewing dis-
tinguished himself in the Union army. Her only brother,
Kev, N. H, Gillespie, was the first graduate of Notre Dame
University, and afterwards became its vice president and
editor of the "Ava Maria."

Mother Angela was born in West Brownsville, Pa.,
February 21, 1824. Her parents lived in a large stone
house. It was a double structure, and in the other
half of it lived her uncle and aunt, the parents of James
G. Blaine, who was born there six years later. Mr. Blaine's
mother and Mother Angela's father were brother and sis-
ter, and the two children were reared together until the
one was twelve and the other was six years of age. This
childish association caused a sincere attachment, which
lasted through life.

While receiving her education in the Academy of the
Visitation at Washington the future Sister had many op-
portunities for mingling in fashionable Washington so-
ciety. One of her chroniclers of that time says that she
had the same personal magnetism that distinguished her
relative, Mr. Blaine. At the age of twenty-seven, however,
she abandoned the world, and after the usual preparation
became a Sister of the Holy Cross. Her work during the
war has already been outlined.

The death of Mother Angela came as a shock to those
with whom she had been associated. She had been ill for
a month, but all looked forward with confidence to her ul-
timate recovery. The Father General coincided with the
physician in assigning the sad event to heart disease, prob-

284 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

ably brought on, as be says, "by the death of Sister M.
Loba, whom she loved tenderly, and whose funeral proces-
sion passed under her window four hours before."

The funeral of Mother Angela took place atNotre Dame
on Sunday morning, March 6, 1887, the mortal remains
being borne from the halls where she had been Superior
for thirty-four years.

Telegrams and letters of regret came from all sections
of the country, and even from parts of Europe. Among the
telegrams was the following from one of the kinsmen of
the dead Sister:

Augusta, Maine, March 4, 1887.
John Gr. Ewing:

Your message is a sad one to me. Communicate my
deepest sympathy to Aunt Mary and to your mother.

JAMES a BLAINE.

The relatives of the deceased religious who were pres-
ent were : Her aged mother, Mrs. M. M. Phelan ; her sister,
Mrs. P. B. Ewing; Hon. P. B. Ewing, Lancaster, Ohio; Sr.
Mary Agnes, Miss Mary R. Ewing, Miss Philomene Ewing,
Mr. John Gr. Ewing, Mrs. N. H. Ewing, Edward S, Ewing,
Mrs. Colonel Steele, Miss Marie Steele, Miss Florence
Steele, Charles Steele, Master Sherman Steele, Mrs. John
Blaine, Miss Louise Blaine, Miss Ella Blaine, Messrs. Walk-
er and Emmons Blaine. Among the numerous friends in
attendance at the funeral were Justice Daniel Scully, Colo-
nel W. P. Eend, Mr. and Mrs. P. Cavanagh, Mr. and Mrs.
Alexander Sullivan, Miss Angela Dillon, Miss Eddy, Chi-
cago; Mr. Jacob Wile, Mr. F. Wile, Mr. Greorge Beale, La-
porte, Lid.; Mr. and Mrs. P. O'Brien, Mr. and Mrs. L. Gr.
Tong, Mr. and Mrs. Stiinfleld, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Baker, Dr. Cas-
sidy. Dr. Calvert, Mrs. Lintener, Mr. Birdsell, South Bend,

MOTHER ANGELA. 285

Ind. ; Miss C. Gavan, Lafayette, Ind. ; Mrs. Shephard, Oma-
ha, Neb.; Mrs. Atkinson, Baltimore, Md.; Mrs. Coughlin,
Toledo, Ohio; Mrs. L. Gregori, Miss F. Gregori, Professor
James J. Edwards, Professor W. Hoynes,Notre Dame, Ind.;
Mrs. Claffey, Notre Dame. Solemn Eequiem Mass was
sung by Rev. Father L'Etoumeau, assisted by the Re\.
Fathers Spillard and Zahm as deacon and subdeacon; Rev.
Father Regan, acting as master of ceremonies. There were
present in the sanctuary : Rt. Rev. Bishop Gilmonr, D. D. ;
Very Rev. Father General Sorin, Very Rev. Father Grang-
er, Very Rev. Father Kilroy, D. D. ; Very Rev. Father Cor-
by Rev. Fathers Walsh, O'Connell, Hudson, Shortis and
Saulnier.

The late Rt Rev. Bishop Gilmour preached the funeral
sermon, in which he outlined the life of a model religious.
He said, among other things:

"It is too much to say that she around whose bier we
are gathered to-day is a fair and generous example of
what I have outlined so very imperfectly and so succinctly?
Fair in her talents and her ambitions with what the world
values most, she buries herself — where? In the silence of
a religious life, in a corner, in an unseen position! When
she came here, some thirty-seven years ago, there was to
be found little of that which to-day might, perhaps, at-
tract one seeking the religious life. She came here to la-
bor, to struggle, to wrestle with hardships, to concentrate
her exceptional talents and energies upon the one grand
object of her life. She came in all fervor, animated solely
with zeal for religion — devotion to her cause. And thirty-
seven years of unfailing generosity tell the tale of her life.

"It is difficult to comprehend what has been done in
those thirty-seven years. It is not easy to realize what a

286 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

devotion, an ambition for God such as hers, might do. Un-
seen, unnoticed, unobtnisive the generosity; unfailing, un-
flagging the devotion with which God has been served and
man has been blessed — such is the life of her who lies be-
fore us. We see the results of her labors, not merely in
the material building she has erected, for that, in itself, is
little, but in the moral seed that she has- deeply planted
here; that has been the salvation of many who have al-
ready gone to their reward. And amongst those who are
living, how many there are whom she has moulded, at-
tracted, inspired with high and religious ambitions; whom
she has directed in the paths of life!

"How many through her influence have been brought
back to God and made generous once more! She has lifted
up the weak, and made stronger those who were strong;
soothed the wounded,directed all to nobler and higher aims.
It would be difficult to find a heart so entirely throbbing
for God as hers; a foot so restless and untiring in doing
good as hers; a brain so busy in devising works for the
welfare of religion and her fellow-men. It is difficult for
those who have not know her to realize the extent of her
labors. It is not every person who can comprehend the
depth of Mother Angela's devotion to the cause of God.
Many have seen it but few have understood it. . . .
For many a long, long day this community will feel the
gap that is made to day by the loss of one who lies in that
narrow, little coffin. . . . The kind Father General,
in the days that are coming, will find how much he has
lost in the generous, assisting hand now cold in death. .

. And you, young friends, will feel the loss of a tender
and directing parent. . . . It is for us aU to praj
that God may bless her, as I am convinced He has."

LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG.

MOTHER ANGELA. 287

After the Bishop's sermon the final absolution of
the body was given and then the procession marched to
the modest little cemetery and Mother Angela was laid
to rest within a stone's throw of where the greater part
of her life work had been performed.

Mother Angela is the original of the Sister of the Holy
Cross portrayed in the following poem:

I.

The din of the battle has died away;

The twilight has grown to a deeper gray ;

The moon rises pale through the mistly cloud,

"While the blood-stained rivulet moans aloud;

And the beams are faint in the kindly stars,

For hope shines no more from their golden
bars.

The leaves of the tremulous aspen sigh

As the night winds, wailing, sweep mournful-
ly by.

The ambulance glides through the gloomy
path,

To heed the wreck of the War Demon's
wrath ;

And the Angel of Peace, from hisi home sub-
lime,

Weeps o'er man's wretchedness, folly and
crime.

II.

'Tis the hour of midnight. How lightly tread
The feet of the watcher, 'mid dying and dead.
Lo! the sable veil and the saintly air.
And the lofty calm of a beauty rare,
Proclaim that watcher, the chosen bride.
Of the world's Redeemer — the Crucified
The stifled groan, the sharp cry of distress
With their burden of woe, through the hot
air press,

288 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

And the Sister of Holy Cross low doth bend ;
Her prayer with the pestilence breath to

blend.
O Sister of Holy Cross, why art thou
Thus won by the pallid and death-cold brow?

HI.

He is not thy brother, yon prostrate form,
Who moans there all bathed in his life-blood

warm;
And the veteran wooinded — his locks so gray —
He is not thy father; then, wherefore stay?
All these are but strangers. Thou, too, art

frail ;
Contagion is borne on the midnight gale.
Ah! a veteran heart, and a nerve more strong.
Unto scenes and to eights like these belong.
O I see her bend with a gentler grace.
And a holier light in her tranquil fac^,
And sweet tears methinke from her mild

eyes flow
As she bends o'er her crucifix fondly, low!

IV.

How reverent her kiss on those sacred feet!
And almost I hear now her heart's quick

beat;
And her low voice sways with a loving might.
Like the key-note by heaven en toned to-night ;
"O ask me not wherefore my heart is bound
To scenes where but agony clusters around.
O bid me not go from a place like this,
For my labor is rest, and my tears are bliss!"
One hand she laid on her throbbing breast,
While the Holy Cross to her lips she pressed.
"Nor a stronger nerve; nor a heart more

stern
Could enkindle the fire that here doth burn.

MOTHER ANGELA. 289

"Ah! these are not strangers, for God hath

died;
And for each in His love shed His heart's

full tide;
'Tig for His dear sake that with joy I bear,
This breath of contagion; this noisome air.
Ah! when I behold here the shattered limb —
The crimson blood oozing, the eyesight dim;
See the gore and the gashes; the death-sweat

cold.
It i& my Redeemer that I behold;
His wounds that I stanch; His brow that I

lave;
His form that I straighten and shroud for

the grave.
I faint not, I fear not, for faith is strong
Since my love and my hope to the Cross

belong."

VI.

Then, then did my heart with her meaning

thrill:
My eyes from the fount of my soul did fill.
For the sake of our loving and Crucified Lord
The cordial she mingled ; the wine she poured.
Compassion she drinks at the fountain head;
The Mother of Sorrows her soul hath led.
How sacred the treasures she stores at Her

feet;
Her lesson makes mourning than joy more

sweet.
'Tie the Queen of Mercy bends down to bless
The wealth of her heavenly tenderness.
And the Angel of Peace from his home of

light
Has bafiied the fiends in her mission to-night!

290 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Mother Angela rarely spoke of ker services in the
war, and with characteristic modesty and " humility fre-
quently endeavored to give others the credit that belonged
to herself. She was a writer with an unusual grace and
charm of style. One of those who served with her during
the war was Sister Mary Josephine. This devoted Sister
died in 18S6, and her death evoked the following dramatic
story from the pen of Mother Angela. It was a true story,
and one of her last contributions to the "Ava Maria."

''Sister Josephine was one among the first of the seven-
ty Sisters of the Holy Cross who, during the late civil war,
served the sick and wounded soldiers in the military hos-
pitals of Louisville, Paducah, Cairo, Mound City, Memphis
and Washington city.

"Those who knew this quiet, gentle religious only dur-
ing the last twenty years of her life could scarcely realize
what courage, even heroism, animated her during those
years of tiie war spent in the hospitals. We give below
one instance among many others.

"In the summer of 1862 the Confederate Fort Charles,
on White River, was attacked on land by a force under
the command of Colonel Fitch, of Indiana, and from the
water by gunboats commanded by Commodore Davis. In
the midst of the battle the boilers of one of the gunboats
exploded, frightfully scalding Captain Kelty and some fifty
others. The sufferers, in their agony, leaped into the river,
and as they did so a broadside from Fort Charles poured
bullets and grapeshot into their parboiled flesh.

"The battle ended with the capture of the fort, and
the wounded of both sides were taken to Mound City Hos-
pital— a block of some twenty-four unfinished warehouses
and storerooms, that had been converted into a vast hos-
pital— in which, after some of the great battles in the Mis-
sissippi Valley, as many as two thousand patients were
treated by a staff of medical ofiicers, and nursed bv twen-

MOTHEL ANGELA. 291

ty-eight Sisters, Sister Josephine being one of them. Colo-
nel Fry, commander of the fort, supposed to be dangerously
wounded, and Captain Kelty were of the number brought
to Mound City after the surrender of Fort Charles.

"The latter was a universal favorite of all the men
and officers of the Western flotilla. His sad state — the
scalded flesh falling from the bones, and pierced with bul-
lets— excited them almost to frenzy. He was tenderly
placed in a little cottage away from the main buiding, and
Colonel Fry, with a few other sufferers, was put in a front
room in the second story of the hospital, under the imme-
diate care of Sister Josephine.

"The next day the report spread like wildfire through
the hospital, and among the one hundred soldiers detailed
to guard it, that Captain Kelty was dying. The wildest ex-
citement prevailed, and in the frenzy of the moment Colo-
nel Fry was denounced as his murderer; it wasi declared
that he had given the inhuman order to fire on the scalded
men. Everyone firmly believed this. But it was not true.
Colonel Fry was ignorant of the explosion when the order
was given.

"Sister Josephine, very pale, yet wonderfully com-
posed, went to the Sister in charge of the hospital to say
that aU the wounded had just been removed from the room
under her care except Colonel Fry. The soldiers detailed
to guard the hospital, and the gunboat men, had built a
rough scaffold in front of the two windows of the room,
mounted it, with loaded guns, and loudly declared that
they would stay there, and the moment they heard of Cap-
tain Kelty's death they would shoot Colonel Fry. ^4.nd,'
continued Sister Josephine, 'the doctor made me leave
the room, saying that my life was in danger. He took the
kep from the door and gave it to 'Dutch Johnny," telling
him that he had entire charge of the man within.'

"Now, 'Dutch Johnny' was one of six brothers; five
had been kUled at Belmont; Johnny was so badly wounded

18

292 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

and crippled in the same battle that he was useless for
active service, and so left to help in the hospital. But one
idea possessed him ; in revenge for his brothers' death he
intended to kill five Confederates before he died.

"In this fearful state of affairs the Sister in charge
went to the Surgeon General of the staff, begging him to
see that no murder be committed. Dr. Franklin answered
that he was powerless to control events, and that the cap-
tain of the company guarding the hospital was absent.

" 'Then,' said the Sister, 'I must call my twenty-seven
Sisters from the sick; we will leave the hospital, and walk
to Cairo.' (A distance of three miles.)

"In vain did the doctor represent to her the sad state
of all the patients she w^as leaving; she would not consent
to remain in a house where murder would soon be commit-
ted; except on one condition : that the doctor would give her
the key of Colonel Fry's room, and that the Sisters have
the care and entire control of the patient.

" 'But,' expostulated the doctor, 'it will be at the risk
of your lives ; for if Captain Kelty dies^ — and I see no hopes
of his recovery — no power on earth can restrain those men
from shooting Colonel Fry.'

" 'Oh, doctor!' sihe answered, 'I have too much faith in
the natural chivalry of every soldier — be he from North
or South of Mason and Dixon's line^ — to fear he would shoot
a poor, wounded man while a Sister stood near him !'

"Seeing the Sisters would leave if this request was
not granted, the doctor sent for 'Dutch Johnny,' took the
key from him and gave it to the Sister. The latter called
for Sister Josephine, and both went in haste to the room
of the wounded man.

"As they turned the key and opened the door a fearful
scene was before them. Colonel Fry lay in a cot; his arms,
both broken, were strapped up with cords fastened to the
ceiling; one broken leg was strapped to the bed; only his
head seemed free. As he turned it, and glared fiercely,

MOTHER ANGELA. 293

as he thought, upon another foe, he seemed like some wild
animal at bay and goaded to madness. Before Sister Jose-
phine had been forced to leave the room she had closed
the windows and lowered the blinds; but her successor,
'Dutch Johnny,' had changed all this ; he had rolled up the
blinds, and threw up the lower sashes. And there, on the
raised platform, not fifty feet from him, Colonel Fry could
see the faces and hear the voices of the soldiers and gun-
boat men, shouting every few minutes for him to be ready
to die, for they would shoot him as soon as they heard of
Captain Kelty's death.

"Very quickly and gently did Sister Josephine speak
to the wounded man, moistening his parched lips with a
cooling drink, giving what relief she could to the poor, tor-
tured body, and assuring him that she and the other Sis-
ter would not leave him ; so he need not fear that the sol-
diers would fire while they remained.

"When these men saw the Sisters in the room they
begged them to leave, even threatened, but to no purpose ;
brave, noble Sister Josephine and her companion
stood at their post all through that long afternoon,
and far into the night; and they prayed, perhaps more
earnestly than they ever prayed before, that Captain Kelty
would not die; for, in spite of all their assuring words to
Colonel Fry, they did not feel so very certain that their
lives would be safe among frenzied men, bent on their tak-
ing revenge into their own hands.

"In the meantime it became konwn that Captain Kel-
ty was a Catholic — a convert — though for many years he
had neglected his religious duties. A messenger was sent
to Cairo to bring Father Welsh to the dying man. When
he came Captain Kelty was in delirium, and the Father
could give him only Extreme Unction. Soon after, about
9 o'clock, he sank into a quiet sleep. He awoke, perfectly
conscious, near midnight, made his confession, received
Holy Communion, and took some nourishment. The doc-

294 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

tor said all danger was over, and a messenger ran in
breathless haste to spread the glad tidings. The excited
soldiers fired a few blank cartridges as a parting salvo,
jumped from the scaffold, and were seen no more. The
rest of the night good Sister Josephine took care of her
patient, undisturbed bj any serious fear that both might
be sent into eternity before morning.

''When the naval officers, who the night before had
looked, as they feared, their last look on the living face of
Captain Kelty, went up the next day from Cairo and found
him out of danger, they laughed and cried with joy. In a
whisper Captain Kelty asked them to be silent for a mo-
ment and listen to him. In a voice trembling with weak-
ness he said :

" TVhile I thank these good doctors for all they have
done, I must testify — and they will bear me out in what I
say — it was not their skill nor any earthly power that
brought me back from the brink of the grave, but the sav-
ing and life-giving Sacraments of the Catholic Church.'

"Colonel Fry and Captain Kelty had long known each
other. Both were naval officers, until at the beginning of
the war Captain Fry left the service, and was made Colo-
nel Fry in the Confederate Army.

"As soon as Captain Kelty was weU enough to learn
what had passed, he declared Colonel Fry was guiltless of
the barbarity of which he had been accused. And Sis-
ter Josephine was made the bearer to her patient of all
the delicacies sent to Captain Kelty, and which he insisted
on sharing with Colonel Fry.

"As soon as Captain Kelty could travel he was taken
to his home in Baltimore. For his bravery he was made
Commodore, and placed in command at Norfolk; but he
was maimed for life; his right hand and arm, aU shriveled
and wasted, hung lifeless by his side. When able to take
such a journey alone, he went all the way back to Cairo
to see again and thank those Sisters, who, he said, under

MOTHEE ANGELA. 295

God, had saved his life in a double sense. He remained
until his death a most fervent Catholic.

"Colonel Fry, after many months of suffering, also re-
covered ; he was paroled, and returned to his home in New
Orleans, There he became a Catholic, often declaring that
good Sister Josephine's bravery and devotedness during
that day and night of torture and agony, followed by
months of long suffering, were eloquent sermons that he
could not resist.

"A few years after the close of the war he was one
of the leaders of that rash band of adventurers whO' invad-
ed Cuba. His fate is well known; with those under his
command he was captured and executed. But it is not
so well known that he profited by the days spent in prison,
in instructing those with him; and many were converted
to the holy faith that first came to him through Sister
Josephine.

"Twenty-three years to the very month passed away,
when quietly and calmly, as in the discharge of hospital
duties, this good Sister, strengthened by the Sacraments
of the Church, literally fell asleep in Our Lord, a few days
after the close of the annual retreat, at which she had
assisted. Owing to the intense heat of the weather, it
was deemed necessary to advance the hour of burial from
6 o'clock in the morning to 8 o^clock on the previous even-
ing. Scarce ever was a prcession so affecting; the Sisters
— more than three hundred in number — all bearing lighted
tapers, the Rev. Chaplains, and the venerable Father Sorin,
Superior General, C. S. C, followed the remains of Sister
Josephine through the beautiful grounds of St. Mary's
to the cemetery. The moon shone asi brightly on her life
less body as it had shone years ago through the open win
dow on her brave, gentle form, when she saved from
death or insanity the wounded prisoner.

"Of the four persons most interested in that night of
agony and torture in the vast military hospital on the

296 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

banks of the Ohio, but one now remains — Sister Jose-
phine's companion. May the three gone to eternity remem-
ber her before God."

The sole survivor of that dreadful episode and the
historian of the event has also gone to her reward. The
prayers of innumerable persons that have benefited by
her charity and goodness ascend to the skies, coupled
with the hope that Mother Angela will not forget those
she has left behind.

CHAPTER XXVII.

NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES.

Comment of Mary A. Livermore upon the work of Mother Angela at Mound
City: "The world has known no nobler and more heroic women than
those found in the ranks of the Catholic Sisterhoods." A famous scout
gives his impressions of the Sisters. Susan D. Messinger tells of the
work of the Sisters at New Berne, N. C.

No tributes that have been paid to the work of the
Catholic Sisterhoods during the war have been more co^'-
dial or more emphatic than those coming from non-Oath-

olic sources. It is a significant
fact that those most prejudiced
against the Sisters have been
persons who knew the least
about them, while the warmest
friends of the dark- robed mes-
sengers of charity and peace
have been persons who came in
contact with them and their labors for humanity.

Mary A. Livermore, whose personal services during
the war were by no means inconsiderable, is one non-Cath-
olic writer who does not hesitate to give the Catholic Sis-
ter full credit for what she did. Miss Livermore says the
Mound City Hospital, in charge of the Sisters of the Holy

(297)

298 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

Cross, was considered the best military hospital in the
United States. She writes: (1).

"There was one general hospital in Cairo, called by
the people 'the Brick Hospital.' Here the Sisters of the
Holy Cross were employed as nurses, one or more to each
ward. Here were order, cleanliness and good nursing. The
food was cooked in a kitchen outside of the hospital. Sur-
geons were detailed to every ward and visited their pa-
tients twice a day, and oftener if necessary. The apothe-
caries^ room was supplied with an ample store of medi-
cines and surgical appliances, and the store-rooms pos
sessed an abundance of clothing and delicacies for the
sick."

The work done at Mound City is thus graphically set
forth : "Except in Mound City everything was in a chaotic
condition compared with the complete arrangement after-
wards. The hospital at Mound City occupied a block of
brick stores, built before the war to accommodate the
prospective commerce of the war. They had not been oc-
cupied, and as the blockade of the Mississippi rendered it
uncertain when they would be needed for their legitimate
use, they were turned over to the medical department for
hospital use. At the time of my visit the Mound City hos-
pital was considered the best military hospital in the
United States. This was due to the administrative talent
of Dr. E. S. Franklin, of Dubuque, la., who, despite poverty
of means and material, transformed the rough block of
stores into a superb hospital, accommodating 1000 patients.
Fifteen hundred had been crowded in it by dint of close
packing.

"The most thorough system was maintained in every

(1). A "Woman's Story of the War."

NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES. 299

department. There was an exact time and place for every-
thing. Every person was assigned to a particular work
and held responsible for its performance. If anyone
proved a shirk, incompetent or insubordinate, he was
sent off in the next boat. A Shaker-like cleanliness and
sweetness of atmosphere pervaded the various wards; the
sheets and pillows were of immaculate whiteness and the
patients who were convalescent were cheerful and con-
tented. The Sisters of the Holy Cross were employed as
nurses, and by their skill, quietness, gentleness and ten-
derness were invaluable in the sick wards. Every patient
gave hearty testimony to the skill and kindness of the
Sisters.

"Mother Angela was the Superior of the Sisters — a
gifted lady of rare cultivation and executive ability with
winning sweetness of manner. She was a member of the
Ewing family and a cousin of Mr. and Mrs. General Sher-
man. The Sisters had nearly broken up their famous
schools at South Bend to answer the demand for nurses.
If I had ever felt prejudiced against these Sisters as
nurses, my experience with them during the war would
have dissipated it entirely. The world has known no no-
bler and more heroic women than those found in the ranks
of the Catholic Sisterhoods."

Captain "Jack" Crawford, who became famous as a
scout in the Union army, in the course of a lecture deliv-
ered after the war speaks of the Sisters as follows:

"On all God's green and beautiful earth there are no
purer, no nobler, no more kind-hearted and self-sacrificing
women than those who wear the sombre garb of Catholic
Sisters. During the war I had many opportunities for ob-
serving their noble and heroic work, not only in the camp

300 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

and hospital, but on the death-swept field of battle. Right
in the fiery front of dreadful war, where bullets hissed in
maddening glee, and shot and shell flew madly by with de-
moniac shrieks, where dead and mangled forms lay with
pale, blood-flecked faces, yet wear the scowl of battle, I
have seen the black-robed Sisters moving over the field,
their solicitous faces wet with the tears of sympathy, ad-
ministering to the wants of the wounded and whispering
words of comfort into the ears soon to be deafened by the
cold, implacable hand of death. Now kneeling on the blood-
bespattered sod to moisten with water the bloodless lips
on which the icy kiss of the death angel has left its pale
imprint; now breathing words of hope of an immortality
beyond the grave into the ear of some mangled hero, whose
last shots in our glorious cause had been fired but a mo-
ment before; now holding the crucifix to receive the last
kiss from somebody's darling boy, from whose breast the
life blood was splashing and who had offered his life as a
willing sacrifice on the altar of his country; now with ten-
der touch and tear-dimmed eye binding gaping wounds,
from which most women must have shrunk in horror ; now
scraping together a pillow of forest leaves, upon which
some pain-racked head might rest until the spirit took its
flight to other realms^ — brave, fearless of danger, trusting
implicitly in the Master whose overshadowing eye was
noting their every movement ; standing as shielding, pray-
erful angels between the dying soldiers and the horrors of
death. Their only recompense the sweet, soul-soothing
consciousness that they were doing their duty ; their only
hope of reward that peace and eternal happiness which
awaited them beyond the star-emblazoned battlements
above. Oh! my friends, it was a noble work.

NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES. 301

"How many a veteran of the war, who wore the Blue
or the Gray, can yet recall the soothing touch of a Sister's
hand as he lay upon the pain-tossed couch of a hospital!
Can we ever forget their sympathetic-eyes, their low, soft-
spoken words of encouragement and cheer when the result
of the struggle between life and death yet hung in the bal-
ance? Oh! how often have I followed the form of that
good Sister Valencia with my sunken eyes as she moved
away from my cot to the cot of another sufferer and have
breathed from the most sacred depths of my faintly-beat-
ing heart the fervent prayer: 'God bless her! God bless
her!'

"My friends, I am not a Catholic, but I stand ready
at any and all times to defend these noble women, even
with my life, for I owe that life to them."

Miss Susan D. Messinger, of Roxbury, Mass., writes
the following eloquent letter to the author:

"It is with real pleasure I pay my tribute to that noble
band of Sisters of Mercy, who did such a Christian work
of love and helpfulness for our suffering soldier boys in
New Berne, N. C. My brother. Captain (afterwards Colonel)
Messinger, was on the staff of Major General John G. Fos-
ter, Eighteenth Army Corps, stationed at New Berne, N. C,
After the taking of New Berne my brother was made Pro-
vost Marshal and given quarters near the general at the
request of Mrs. Foster, my sister. Mrs. Messinger and I
were sent for to stay a few weeks, although in no official
capacity. No woman could be in the army without find-
ing much she could do to relieve and comfort, and especial-
ly through the home our little quarters became to all, from
major generals to privates. We could not go home. We
stayed until summer. I write all this personal matter to

302 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

show how I was thrown into the companionship of these
Catholic Sisters. Although my brother and myself were
Unitarians we beca me close, congenial friends with these
brave women, who had to seek constantly advice and help
from my brother on account of his position as Provost
Marshal.

''General Foster was a Catholic and brought to New
Berne six Sisters from the Convent of Mercy, in New York,
to take charge of a hospital in New Berne for special cases.
He took for their convent a house which had been General
Burnsides' headquarters, and which also, during the war
of the Revolution, had been occupied by Washington, his
room and writing table sacredly preserved. This house
communicated by a plank walk with another house, or
houses, used as hospitals, and only over that plank walk did
those devoted women ever take any exercise or recreation.
They literally gave themselves as nurses to the poor,
wounded, maimed and sick soldiers brought to them day
after day. And most beautifully did they fulfill the
charge. Many a soldier will never forget their tender, un-
selfish care and devotion. I was witness myself to much
of it, as I was privileged to go from ward to ward. Many a
dying man blessed them as angels of mercy, almost looking
upon them as sent from the other world.

"One dear young fellow, who was almost reverenced
by doctors and nurses for his patience and fortitude (young
George Brooks, brother to the late Bishop Philipps Brooks),
looked up into the sweet face of Mother Augustine, as she
bent over to minister or to soothe the dear boy, with:
'Mother, thank you, Mother,' and with such an ineffable
smile of peace. We could never tell if in his delirium he
thought it was his own mother, but the peace on the boy's

FARRAGUT IN THE RIGGING.

NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES. 303

face showed what his nurse had been to him. His sickness
was short and death came just before the father reached
New Berne.

"One dear young friend of mine, Sergeant Charles
Hinkling, was sick under their care many weeks; finally
brought home to linger and die; but he and his family
were most deeply grateful to the kind Sisters for the ten-
der care bestowed upon him in their hospital, especially by
Sister Grertrude.

"Sister Mary Grertrude is now the Mother Superior of
an institution in California, after a life of hard work
among the poor and suffering. I think she is perhaps the
only one living of those dear women I knew in New Berne.

"It was through the winter of 1862-63 that the Sis-
ters were in New Berne. The next year the headquarters
were removed to Fortress Monroe and the Sisters returned
to New York.

"Through these thirty years or more — my brother
and many, many more who could have borne evidence
to the faithful work of the Sisters of Mercy in New
Berne — have answered the roll call to the
Home above. But those days stand out in
my memory as clearly as if yesterday, with all the pain,
anxiety, hope, fear and faith, and no scenes are more real
to me than those hours with those devoted women who
were helping God's children so wisely, so gently, with no
thought of reward or glory! God bless their memories to
us all."

General David McMurtrie Gregg ranks as one of the
most distinguished cavalry officers that served in the
Union Army. No man on either side had a more brilliant
record for discretion in camp and bravery in battle. He

304 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

graduated at West Point, and after meritorious service in
tlie regular army in New Mexico, California, Oregon and
Washington Territory lie became colonel of the Eighth
Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry. He served with his reg-
iment during the entire Peninsular campaign of 1862, and
in November of that year he became brigadier general of
volunteers. He was placed in command of a division of
cavalry on the battlefield of Fredericksburg and served as
its commander in the Stoneman's raid, in the campaigns of
Gettysburg, Mine Run, the Wilderness and in front of Pe-
tersburg. He commanded the cavalry of the Army of the
Potomac from August, 1864, until his resignation from
the army, in February, 1865. He was breveted major gen-
eral United States volunteers, August 1, 1864. General
Gregg has occupied many positions of distinction in civil
life.

The writer of this volume recently communicated with
General Gregg regarding his experiences with the Cath-
olic Sisterhoods in the war, and received the following very
interesting reply :

"My Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of the
8th instant, inclosing an article taking from a newspaper
published in 1866, and in which the name 'General Gregg^
is mentioned. The person referred to was my cousin. Gen-
eral John I. Gregg, who commanded one of my brigades.

"I do not recall that at any time in the field I was
brought in contact with representatives of any of the Cath-
olic Sisterhoods, yet the mere mention of the matter makes
me reminiscent, and whilst my experience with a repre-
sentative of a Sisterhood was purely personal, it was so
pleasant and profitable to me that I cannot refrain from
mentioning it. In the summer of 1861 I was made a cap-
tain in the Sixth Regular Cavalry, and was ordered East

NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES. 305

from Oregon, where for several yearsi I had. been serving
as a lieutenant in the First Dragoons. In crossing the
Isthmus of Panama I contracted the low fever of that
region.

"In September I joined the Sixth at Bladensburg, near
Washington, and after a short time I was prostrated by
this fever. Just at this time the regiment was ordered
away, and I was left in the camp seriously ill. Stretched
on the bottom of an ambulance I was hauled over a rough
road to Washington and placed in a bed in the old Kirk-
wood House in a state of delirium. A few hours after Ma-
jor Ingalls, who subsequently became Quarter Master Gen-
eral, a warm personal friend, heard of my condition, and
with another friend came to the hotel with a. carriage, and
I was taken to the E Street Infirmary, which was in
charge of a surgeon of the regular army. At the entrance
of the infirmary stood the doctor, and at his side an elderly
Sister of Charity.

"I was carried in and placed in a large room next to the
surgeon's, and was at once put into a clean, comfortable
bed. The good Sister, who had some superior rank, saw
that I was made comfortable, and, it is needles to say, that
after what I had gone through, I felt as though I were in
heaven. Then followed weeks of severe illness with ty-
phoid fever. I had the attendance of my own man, and
had many visits each day from doctors, stewards and their
assistants, but the real nursing was done by another Sister
of Charity, Sister Margaret.

"I have never forgotten her gentleness and cheerful-
ness. She was simply the highest type of a Christian wo-
man. Her good nursing continued for weeks, and I was
kept alive only to go through another trying experience,
for an a cold and rainy night early in November, and near-
ly midnight, this infirmary took fire and was entirely de-
stroyed. How I escaped has nothing to do with this nar-
rative, but to my exceeding regret I never again saw Sis-
ter Margaret.

306 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

"But I have never forgotten her, and when in the
street I meet one of the vSisterhood to which she belonged
there is in my heart a feeling of respect and gratitude to
those self-denying and devoted women who are spending
their lives in doing good to their fellow-beings.

"I have written more than I intended, but I love to
talk about the good Sister Margaret, and it is not surpris-
ing that if, as now, I am inclined to write about her, I al-
low my pen to run away a little.

"Sincerely yours,
"D. McM. GREGO.
"Reading, Pa., Jan. 11, 1898."

The South Bend Tribune, shortly after the return of
the Sisters of the Holy Cross to their convent homes, print-
ed the following:

"When in September, 1861, General Lew Wallace,
commanding the Federal forces in Southern Kentucky,
applied to St. Mary's for nurses, Mother Angela, with five
other Sisters, hastened to the relief of the suffering sol-
diers at the camp in Paducah. And before the opening of
the year 1862 seventy-five Sisters were sent from St.
Mary's, and her branch houses, to the military hospitals
at Louisville, Paducah, Cairo, Mound City, Memphis and
Washington.

"Of this number, two died from fever, caught in the
discharge of their duties. When the Western flotnia of
gunboats opened the Mississippi River Commodore Davis
asked and obtained the services of seven Sisters of the
Holy Cross to take charge of the floating hospital, in
which hundreds of lives were saved. These deeds were not
done for the world's praise; they were the duties to which
the lives of the Sisters of the Holy Cross are devoted, when-
ever suffering humanity requires their help, A memorial

NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES. 307

of those days now rests in St. Mary's grounds, in the shape
of two immense shattered cannon, captured at Island No.
lO, and presented to Mother Angela by the commander of
the flotilla. These cannon are destined tO' be moulded into
a statue of 'Our Lady of Peace,'' and will remain in St.
Mary's grounds as an historical monument of the dark
days of our civil war."

A correspondent of the (Protestant) Church Journal,
writing from New Orleans in 1862, highly compliments the
Sisters of Charity in that city for the amount of good they
are unostentatiously doing, saying among other things :

"One misses here a church hospital. Many of our Fed-
eral officers and men are cared for when sick in the Ro-
man Catholic institutions, the Hotel Dieu and the Charity
Hospital. The Sisters attend most winningiy on their pa-
tients and force them to confess on recovering that their
own mothers and sisters at home could not have done bet-
ter for them. On leaving the patient carries away in his
hand some Roman Catholic book of prayer, or controversy,
or instruction, and in his heart a grateful remembrance of
the fair donor, a resolution to peruse the book, and a pro-
found conviction that the Roman Catholic Church, with all
its faults, certainly has a soul of true Christian love. Sure-
ly the time will come when all churchmen will acknowl-
edge the angelic influence of Christian Sisterhoods in the
natural connections between curing the body and renovat-
ing the soul, the imperative necessity of organizing Chris-
tian and accomplished nurses and placing them in institu-
tions where their love and skill can do the highest possible
service."

The Charleston Mercury, during the siege of that city,

said:

19

308 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

''There is probably no one in this city whose eyes
have not followed with interest the quite and modest figure
of some Sister of Mercy as she passed upon her rounds. It
is in this gentle impersonation of Christian benevolence
and to her associates that our sick and wounded soldiers
owe the tenderest of those ministrations which are better
than medicine in their effect upon the languishing invalid.
Nor is the large kindness of these ladies solely displayed in
the personal cares which they bestow upon the sufferer.
They give generously from their stores at the same time,
and many a want is thus supplied which might otherwise
have been left ungratifled. Since the beginning of the
siege of our city their presence has diffused its blessings
in every hospital, and their unwearied attentions to the sol-
diers have done incalculable good."

In the closing year of the war Rev. George W. Pepper,
a Methodist clergyman, in a sermon preached by him in
the Methodist Episcopal Churchy White Eyes, Coshoc-
ton County, Ohio, eulogized these heroic ladies as foUows:

"The war has brought out one result — it has shown
that numbers of the weaker sex, though born to wealth
and luxury, are ready to renounce every comfort and brave
every hardship, that they may minister to the suffering,
tend the wounded in their agony, and soothe the last strug-
gles of the dying. God bless the Sisters of Charity in their
heroic mission ! I had almost said their heroic martyrdom !
And I might have said it, for I do think that in walking
those long lines of sick beds, in giving themselves to all
the ghastly duties of the hospital, they are doing a harder
thing than was allotted to many who mounted the scaf-
fold or dared the stake."

"Mack," a correspondent of the Ohio State Journal,

NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES. 309

writing from Murfreesboro, under date of January 4, 1863,
about hospital scenes, which he describes as heartrending,
thus speaks of the kind oflSees and invaluable services of
the Sisters of Charity :

"It is now a pleasure to turn from this dark and dis-
mal description of the majority of our hospitals to an oasis
— a something that is in reality bright and cheering. There
is a sect called Roman Catholics — a sect that, in my young-
er days, I was taught to look upon as monsters, capable
of any crime in the calendar of human frailties^ — who have
hospitals in their own charge attended by Sisters of Char-
ity. They should be called 'angels,' who know what true,
disinterested humanity is. I have visited them, therefore
I speak of what I know. Everything in and about them is
clean and comfortable; scarcely a death takes place with-
in their portals. If a soldier is dangerously sick you will
see by the side of his clean and tidy cot one of these heav-
en-born 'angels' (we call them nothing else), ministering
to his every want with the tender care of a mother or sis-
ter. They glide noiselessly from cot to cot cheering the
despondent and speaking words of kindness to aU. No one
who has the heart of a man can help loving them with a
holy sisterly love. There is not a soldier in Richmond but
would beg, if it was possible, that when wounded or sick
he should to be taken to such an hospital, and for myself,
sooner than be taken to any other, I would rather die by
the wayside with God's canopy my only covering. Would
to God there were more of them!"

The following account of a presentation to a Sister of
Charity is from the Cleveland Herald of November 13,
1865:

"One of the most pleasant presentation affairs we re-

310 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

member to liave attended took place at Charity Hospital
yesterday, at 11 o'clock. After Professor Weber, Dr. Scott
and the students had been seated the Lady Superior was
invited into the room and presented with a beautiful en-
graving, one of the proof-sheets copied from the painting of
Constant Mayor, entitled ^Consolation,' by Captain Sam-
uel Whiting. Mr. Whiting, in presenting the engaving,
said:

" 'Sister Superior, some years ago, while in command
of one of the New Orleans steamships, I was prostrated
at that port with a severe attack of yellow fever, and
though I had many friends there, had it not been for the
tender care and skillful nursing of the Sisters of Charity,
I have no idea that I should have survived the attack.

" 'During our late fearful and bloody war the devo-
tion of your noble order to the cause of humanity has won
the admiration of the world, and entirely obliterated the
illiberal prejudices of the most bigoted opponents of your
sect. Certainly, no soldier of the Crimean army will ever
ignore the kind care and gentle nursing of the Sisters of
Charity.' "

Each hospital throughout our hind could count them by the score
Whose deeds have doubly sanctified our long and bloody war,
And many a home-returning b rave will long delight to tell
Of her, the gentle minister, who tended him so well.
The mother calls a blessing down on her who nursed her son.
And thanks of wounded heroe s brave how well her work was done.
True womanhood has ever prov'd self-sacrificing, brave —
Last at the dear Redeemer's C ross and earliest at His grave.

"The citizens of Cleveland may well be congratulated
on the possession of this noble Institution. The rare skill
of its eminent and accomplished surgeons, the sound

NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES. 311

teaching of its learned pathologist, combined with the
tender nursing of your good and benevolent Sisterhood,
will relieve many of the Uls that flesh is heir to, and re-
store to many a grateful sufferer the God-given priceless
boon of health.

"As a small token of grateful recollections to my
nurses at New Orleans, I beg to present to the Sisters of
Charity Hospital this engraving, one of the proof-sheets,
copied from the beautiful painting of Constant Mayer, en-
titled 'Consolation,' and with it the following poem, which
I take pleasure in writing for them, descriptive of the
scene so admirably portrayed by the accomplished artist v

A Union soldier in his tent,

Weak, wounded and despairing lay;
The hectic flushes came and went,

As rose the din of battle fray.

The Army of the Cumberland

Saw him with eager, flashing eye
In its front rank undaunted stand.

Resolved to conquer or to die.

Firm and unflinching thus he stood.
While cannon belched through blood-red
flames;

His chiefest thought his country's good.
And next perchance a deathless name.

Sudden as lightning's vivid glare

Shrilly shell burst above his head;
A fragment laid hie bosom bare

And stretched him wounded with the dead.

Back to the rear the soldiers bore
The wounded comrade, faint and weak;

His "army blue" was stained with gore.
And death's pale seal was on his cheek.

312 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

A surgeon dressed the ghastly wound
And counseled quiet aud repose,

Then sought again the battleground,
Now thickly strewn with friends and foes.

Left to himself the wounded man
Bethought him of his early life,
■ ' Each wayward act and vicious plan.

Each worldly and unholy strife.

And as he weaker grew he thought
Of his dear home, far, far away ;

What would he give — could it be bought —
For power to be there but a day.

To close his dying eyes where first
His infant lips had learned to pray,

To kiss the mother who had nursed
The sister who had shared his play.

He murmured: "Oh, for one sweet tone
Of voices loved in days gone by!

Dear mother, sister, oh, for one
To gently close my dying eye."

He ceased; a face of radiant light
Was in his tent and by his side;

Each feature beautified and bright,
Free from all trace of human pride.

, She points him to a heavenly home,

A house of joy not made with hands —
To the Redeemer calling, "Come!"
Who at the portal beckoning stands.

Then she unclasped the book of prayer.
Its oft turned leaves were soiled and worn,

For she had made her constant care
Our wounded soldiers night and morn.

From those dim pages she essayed
Lpo whisper to the wounded, "Peace!"

Iier .centle tones his fears allayed
And bade his soul despairing cease.

NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES. 313

"Sister of Charity!" he cried,

"Sister and mother both thou art;
For here by my poor pallet side,

Thou'rt one with them in hand and heart."

"Oh, hear me, and, though poor and weak,

If I survive I'll hold her dear,
Who gently bathed my fevered cheek

And brought me consolation here."

"It now remains for me only to tender you this humble
testimonial of my regard and my hearty wishes for the
fullest prosperity of the Charity Hospital and College, for
the temporal and eternal welfare of the Sisterhood of the
first, and the continued health and usefulness of the emi-
nent faculty of the last."

The remarks of Captain Whiting met with a hearty
response from Dr. Scott, in behalf of the Lady Superior,
in acceptance of the picture.

The Memphis Appeal, in its issue of February 17, I860,
thus bears testimony to the zeal and value of the Sisters
of Charity in this city:

"Vincent de Paul, who has since received, so
justly deserved, the title of 'Benefactor of
Mankind,' was the originator of that divine and charitable
society, 'The Sisters of Charity,' in a small town of France,
in the early part of the seventeenth century. The signal
service rendered by them during the past civil war to our
sick, wounded and dying soldiers in camp, in hospital and
on the battlefield, and their unwearied and constant minis-
trations to the suffering and poor of all classes throughout
the land, is the theme of praise and commendation on tl e
lips of all, no matter of what religious creed or faith.

"Their God-like and noble works have won respect, the
most profound from every one. In our OAvn city the result

314 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

of their exertions are to be seen on every hand. In the
cause of education their stand is pre-eminent. With them
modesty, knowledge and refinement are most carefully
blended. The young girl, after a tutelage of years under
their careful supervision, walks forth into the world, with
a mind as pure and free, and demeanor as gentle and kind,
as when first these precious charges were tendered to their
keeping. And how carefully are the poor little ones, with-
out parents and bereft of homes, provided for by these
angels of earth !

"The asylum under their charge and guidance,situated
near the Catholic Cemetery, on the outskirts of the city, is
the most complete institution of its kind in the State. A
large number of orphans are educated, clothed and fed
here the year in and out, finding compensation only in the
good they have done and the anticipation of a bright re-
ward hereafter, from Him 'Who tempereth the wind to
the shorn lamb,' and under whose 'All-seeing Eye' every
act of charity and faith is always recorded. Their labors
in behalf of the sick are ever attended with the most cheer-
ing results. Take a look at our city hospitals, and you will
find everything well arranged, clean and neat, and bearing
the impress most unmistakably of the goodness of their
hearts and the greatness of their works.

"The patients, one and all, express the most sincere
satisfaction at their treatment, and pray, as all good peo-
ple do, that the society which has rendered so much good
to us and all mankind may be like the foundation stone
of all blessings' — Truth — and with it ever bear the stamp
of immortality."

CHAPTER XXVIII.

A LESSON IN CHARITY.

An incident of the war in wliich a gentle Sister of Charity and a stern mili-
tary commander played the leading parts. " What do you do with your
beggings?" The Red River campaign and its fatal results. The gen-
eral in the hospital. "Did you get the ice and beef?" A grateful
patient and his appreciation of the real worth of the Sisters.

"During the late war, and when General S. was in com-
mand of the department at New Orleans, the Sisters of
Charity made frequent applications to him for assist-
ance. (1). Especially were they desir-
ous to obtain supplies at what was
termed 'commissary prices;' that is,
at a reduction or commutation of
telSS.**%^ one-third the amount which the same
provisions would cost at market
rates. The principal demand was for ice, flour, beef and
coffee, but mainly ice, a luxury which only the Union forces
could enjoy at anything like a reasonable price. The hos-
pitals were full of the sick and wounded of both the Fed-
eral and Confederate armies, and the benevolent institu-
tions of the city were taxed to the utmost in their endeav-
ors to aid the poor and the suffering, for those were trying

(1). This interesting narrative was originally published in "The
Philadelphia Times" and afterwards in Father Corby's "Memoirs
of Chaplain life."

315)

316 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

times, and war lias many victims. Foremost among these
Christian workers stood the various Christian Sisterhoods.
These noble women were busy day and night, never seem-
ing to know fatigue, and overcoming every obstacle that,
in so many discouraging forms, obstructed the way of do-
ing good — obstacles which would have completely dis-
heartened less resolute women, or those not trained in the
school of patience, faith, hope and charity, and where the
first grand lesson learned is self-denial. Of money there
was little, and food, fuel and medicine were scarce and
dear; yet they never faltered, going on in the face of all
difficulties, through poverty, war and unfriendly asper-
sions, never turning aside,never complaining,never despair-
ing. No one will ever know the sublime courage of these
good Sisters during the dark days of the Rebellion. Only
in that hour when the Judge of all mankind shall summon
before Him the living and the dead will they receive their
true reward, the crown everlasting, and the benediction:
*Well done, good and faithful servant.'

"It was just a week previous to the Red River cam-
paign, when all was hurry and activity throughout the
Department of the Gulf, that Oeneral S., a stern, irascible
old officer of the regular army, sat at his desk in his office
on Julia street, curtly giving orders to subordinates, dis-
patching messengers hither and thither to every part of
the city where troops were stationed, and stiffly receiving
such of his command as had important business to trans-
act.

"In the midst of this unusual hurry and preparation
the door noiselessly opened, and a humble Sister of Charity
entered the room. A handsome young lieutenant of the
staff instantly arose and deferentially handed her a chair,

A LESSON m CHARITY. 317

for those sombre gray garments were respected, if not un-
derstood, even though, he had no reverence for the religious
faith which they represented.

"General S. looked up from his writing, angered "by
the intrusion of one whose 'fanaticism' he despised, and a
frown of annoyance and displeasure gathered darkly on
his brow,

"'Orderly!'

"The soldier on duty without the door, who had ad
mitted the Sister, faced about, saluted and stood mute,
awaiting the further command of his chief,

" 'Did I not give orders that no one was to be ad-
mitted?'

"'Yes, sir; but—"

" 'When I say no one, I mean no one,' thundered the
General,

"The orderly bowed and returned to his post. He was
too wise a soldier to enter into explanation with so irrit-
able a superior. All this time the patient Sister sat calm
and still, biding the moment when she might speak and
meekly state the object of her mission. The General gave
her the opportunity in the briefest manner possible, and
sharply enough, too, in all conscience.

"'WeU, madam?'

"She raised a pair of sad, dark eyes to his face, and
the gaze was so pure, so saintly, so full of silent pleading,
that the rough old soldier was touched in spite of himself.
Around her fell the heavy muffling dress of her order,
which, however coarse and ungraceful, had something
strangely solemn and mournful about it. Her hands, small
and fair, were clasped almost suppliantly, and half-hidden
in the loose sleeves, as if afraid of their own trembling

318 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

beauty; hands that had touched tenderly, lovingly, so
many death-damp foreheads; that had soothed so much
pain ; eyes that had met prayerfully so many dying glances;
lips that had cheered to the mysterious land so many part-
ing souls, and she was only a Sister of Charity — only one
of that innumerable band whose good deeds shall live
after them.

" 'We have a household of sick and wounded whom we
must care for in some way, and I came to ask of you the
privilege, which I humbly beseech you will not deny us, of
obtaining ice and beef at commissary prices.'

"The gentle, earnest pleading fell on deaf ears.

" 'Always something,' snarled the General, 'Last
week it was flour and ice; to-day it is ice and beef; to-mor-
row it will be coffee and ice, I suppose, and all for a lot
of rascally rebels, who ought to be shot, instead of being
nursed back to life and treason.'

"'General!' — the Sister was majestic now — 'Rebel or
Federal, I do not know; Protestant or Catholic, I do not
ask. They are not soldiers when they come to us; they are
simply suffering fellow-creatures. Rich or poor, of gentle
or lowly blood, it is not our province to inquire. Ununi-
formed, unarmed, sick and helpless, we ask not on which
side they fought. Our work begins after yours is done.
Yours the carnage, ours the binding up of wounds. Yours
the battle, ours the duty of caring for the mangled left
behind on the field. Ice I want for the sick, the wounded,
the dying. I plead for all, I heg for all, I pray for all God's
IK)or suffering creatures, wherever I may find them,'

" 'Yes, you can beg, I'll admit. What do you do with
all your beggings? It is always more, more! never enough!'

"With this, the General resumed his writing, thereby

A LESSON IN CHARITY. 319

giving the Sister to understand tliat she was dismissed.
For a moment her eyes fell, her lips trembled — it was a
cruel taunt. Then the tremulous hands slowly lifted and
folded tightly across her breast, as if to still some sudden
heartache the unkind words called up. Very low, and
sweet, and earnest was her reply:

"'What do we do with out beggings? Oh, that is a
hard question to ask of one whose way of life leads ever
among the poor, the sorrowing, the unfortunate, the most
wretched of mankind. Not on me is it wasted. I stand
here in my earthly all. What do we do with it? Ah! some
day you may know.'

"She turned away and left him, sad of face, heavy of
heart, and her dark eyes misty with unshed tears.

"'Stay!'

"The General's request was like a command. He could
be stern ; nay, almost rude, but he knew truth and worth
when he saw it, and could be just. The Sister paused on
the threshhold, and for a minute nothing was heard but
the rapid scratching of the General's pen.

" 'There, madam, is your order on the Commissary for
ice and beef at army terms, good for three months. I do
it for the sake of the Union Soldiers who are, or may be, in
you care. Don't come bothering me again. Good-raorning !'

"In less than three weeks from that day the slaughter
of the Red River campaign had been perfected, and there
neared the city of New Orleans a steamer flying the omin-
ous yellow flag, which even the rebel sharpshooters respect-
ed and allowed to pass down the river unmolested. Anoth-
er, and still another, followed closely in her wake, and all
the decks were covered with the wounded and dying
whose bloody bandages and, in many instances, undressed

320 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

wounds gave woeful evidence of the lack of surgeons, as
well as the completeness of the rout. Among the desperate-
ly wounded was General S. He was borne from the steam-
er to the waiting ambulance, writhing in anguish from the
pain of his bleeding and shell-torn limb, and when they
asked him where he wished to be taken he feebly moaned :

" 'Anywhere, it matters not. Where I can die in
peace.'

"So they took him to the Hotel Dieu, a noble and
beautiful institution, in charge of the Sisters of Charity.
The limb was amputated and then he was nursed for weeks
through the agony of the surgical operation, the fever, the
wild delirium ; and for many weary days no one could tell
whether life or death would be the victor. But who was
the quiet, faithful nurse, ever at his bedside, ever minister-
ing to his wants, ever watchful of his smallest needs? Why
only 'one of the Sisters.'

"At last life triumphed, reason returned, and with it
much of the old, abrupt manner. Tlie General awoke to
consciousness to see a face not altogether unknown bend-
ing over him,and to feel a pair of small,deft hands skillfully
arranging a bandage, wet in ice-cold water, around his
throbbing temples, where the mad pain and aching had
for so long a time held sway. He was better now, though
still very weak; but his mind was clear, and he could think
calmly and connectedly of all that had taken place since
the fatal battle — a battle which had so nearly cost him his
life and left him at best but a maimed and mutilated rem-
nant of his former self.

"Yet he was thankful it was no worse^ — that he had
not been killed outright. In like degree he was grateful
to those who nursed him so tenderly and tirelessly, espe-

A LESSON IN CHARITY. 321

cially the gray-robed woman, who had become almost an-
gelic in his eyes; and it was like him to express his grati-
tude in his own peculiar way, without preface or circum-
locution. Looking intently at the Sister, as if to get her
features well fixed in his memory, he said:

" 'Did you get the ice and beef?'

"The Sister started. The question was so direct and
unexpected. Surely her patient must be getting — really
himself !

" 'Yes,' she replied simply, but with a kind glance of
the soft, sad eyes, that spoke eloquently her thanks.

" 'And you name is "

" 'Sister Francis.'

' 'T\^ell, then, Sister Francis, I am glad you got the
things — glad I gave you the order. I think I know now
what you do with your beggings. I comprehend something
of your work, your charity, your religion, and I hope to be
the better for the knowledge. I owe you a debt I can
never repay, but you will endeavor to believe that I am
deeply grateful for all your great goodness and ceaseless
care.'

"'Nay; you owe me nothing; but to Him, whose
cross I bear and in whose Divine footsteps I try to
follow, you owe a debt of gratitude unbounded. To His in-
finite mercy I commend you. It matters not for the body ;
it is that divine mystery, the soul, I would save. My work
here is done. I leave you to the care of others. Adieu.'

"The door softly opened and closed, and he saw Sister
Francis no more.

"Two months afterward she received a letter sent to
the care of the Mother Superior, inclosing a check for a
thousand dollars. At the same time the General took

322 ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD.

occasion to remark that he wished he were able to make
it twice the amount, since he knew by experience 'What
they did with their beggings.' "

With this portion of the book is concluded the record
of the labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the war. The
appendix which follows contains a number of interesting
facts which it was deemed advisable to separate from
the text proper. Most of them have reference, either di-
rectly or indirectly, to the patience, courage and loyalty
of the Sisters. Those that have not are sufficiently allied
to the subject matter to justify their insertion
in a volume of this character. Before the book
went to press the writer went over this ad-
ditional matter with a view to omitting some portions
that did not appear directly related to the main volume.
But it was difficult to make a choice. No two persons could
agree upon the part to be retained and the portion to be
omitted. So all of the matter has remained as it was orig
inally conceived and arranged.

No one can read the story of the labors of the heroic
women in the war without a thrill of reverence and ad-
miration for these devoted nurses. They constitute "a
grand army of the Republic" before which the boys in Blue
and the boys in Gray, and their descendants after them,
can bow the head in respectful salutation. They "enlist-
ed in the war" from motives of the highest patriotism —
love of humanity and love of God. They had no pui'pose
to accomplish, no axes to grind, no reward to receive, no
pay to earn! They did not forsake their peaceful convent
homes, share the privations and the rough fare of the sol-
diers, to gratify any worldly ambition. All that they did
was from a pure and elevated sense of duty. The high

A LESSON IN CHAEITY.

323

motives that inspired them in volunteering their services
at the crisis in this nation's history has also prevented
them from recording or publishing the amount and char-
acter of these services. Their light has literally been hid
beneath a bushel. This feeble effort to do justice to their
labors and their memory has been undertaken, not be-
cause they would have it done, but because duty, justice
and patriotism alike demanded that it should be done. If
the perusal of these pages furnishes the reader one-tenth
of the pleasure involved in their making, the writer will
be well repaid for his labor.

20

APPENDIX.

AN INNOCENT VICTIM.
The frontispiece, entitled "An Innocent Victim,"
that adorns this volume is taken from a famous paint-
ing executed by S. Seymour Thomas, an artist who is
rapidly rising to fame. Mr. Thomas was born in San
Augustine, Tex., studied in New York at the Art Stu-
dents' League, and from there went to Paris, where he is
recognized as an artist of great power. This picture was
exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition, in Chi-
cago, where it attracted great attention.

II.

MEDALS FOR SISTERS.
The official gazette of the French Government recently
published an order of the Minister of War granting medals
to certain Catholic Sisters. A gold medal has been award-
ed to Sister Clare, of the Order of Sisters of St Charles,
for twenty-seven years' service in the wards of the military
hospital at Toul, and for pre\ious service at Nancy, during
the whole of which time she had given constant evidence
of her devotion to duty. Silver medals have been given
to Sister Gabrielle for thirty-six years' work, during twen-

(324)

APPENDIX. 325

ty-tliree of whicli she has been Superior; to Sister Adri-
enne for thirty-eight years' service, and to Sister Charlotte
for eleven years' service. These last three religious have
been attached to the mixed hospital of Verdun, and, ac-
cording to the official notice, have been remarkable for
their zeal and their devoted care of the sick soldiers.

in.

HONORED BY THE QUEEN.

The Queen of England only a few months ago showed
her appreciation of the work of the Sisters in time of war
by bestowing the Royal Red Cross upon the venerable
Mother Aloysius Doyle, of the Convent of Mercy, Gort,
Ireland. The following correspondence deserves to be pre-
served :

Pall Mall, London, S. W.,

February 15, 1897.

Madam: — The Queen having been pleased to besto^\
upon you the decoration of the Royal Red Cross, I have
to inform you that in the case of such honors as this it is
the custom of Her Majesty to personally bestow the deco-
ration upon the recipient when such a course is conven-
ient to all concerned, and I have, therefore, to request that
you will be so good as to inform me whether it would be
convenient to you to attend at Windsor some time within
the next few weeks. Should any circumstances prevent
your receiving the Royal Red Cross from the hands of
Her Majesty it could be transmitted by post to your pres-
ent address. I am, madam, your obedient servant,

GEORCE M. FARQUHARSON.

SISTER MARY ALOYSIUS.

326 APPENDIX.

St. Patrick's, Gort, County Galway.

Sir : — I received your letter of the IStli, intimating to
me that Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen is pleased
to bestow on me the Order of the Royal Cross in recogni-
tion of the services of my Sisters in religion and my own
in caring for the wounded soldiers at the Crimea during
the war. My words cannot express my gratitude for the
great honor which Her Majesty is pleased to confer on
me. The favor is, if possible, enhanced by the permission
to receive this public mark of favor at Her Majesty's
own hands. The weight of seventy-six years and the infirm-
ities of age will, I trust, dispense me from the journey
to the palace. I will, therefore, with sentiments of deepest
gratitude ask to be permitted to receive this mark of my
Sovereign's favor in the less public and formal manner
you have kindly indicated, I am, sir, faithfully yours in
Jesus Christ, SISTER M. ALOYSIUS.

February 17, 1897.

IV.

VETERANS OF THE CRIMEAN WAR.

In August, 1897, at the close of the ceremonies inci-
dent to the celebration of her Diamond Jubilee, the Queen
of Great Britain conferred the decoration of the Royal
Red Cross upon Anny Nursing Sisters Maiy Helen Ellis,
Mary Stanilaus Jones, Mary Anastasia Kelly and Mary de
Chantal Huddon, in recognition of their services in tend-
ing the sick and wounded at the seat of war during the
Crimean campaign of 1854-56. Their services were very
much appreciated by Miss Nightingale, who, indeed, has
ever since shown her interest in them in many ways.

APPENDIX. 327

The three Sisters first mentioned, together with anoth-
er who has died since, were on their return from the East,
asked to undertake the nursing at a hospital, just then be-
ing established in Great Ormond street, for incurable and
dying female patients, and to this hospital they have been
attached to the present time.

POOR SISTER ST. CLAIRE.

Professor Edward Roth, the well-known Philadelphia
educator, is authority for this episode of the Franco-Ger-
man war. He quotes General Ambert, who fought as a
private in the war, as follows :

"Oh, yes ; one of them I shall never forget. Poor Sis-
ter St. Claire ! I see her this moment, her big black veil
trimmed with blue, as she makes her way through the
blood-smeared straw of our crowded barn. The roaring of
the cannon was awful, but she did not seem to mind it;
she did not seem to mind even the terrible fire that was
now raging through the last houses of the village, the
flames near enough to cast an unearthly glimmer on the
suffering faces of the wounded men. But, oh! how her
sharp ear caught the slightest complaint! How she flew
towards the faintest whisper !

''Everywhere at once — with each one of us at the same
time! What iron strength God must have put into that
little body! Your eye had hardly caught glimpse of it
when you felt already at your lips the cool refreshing drink
that you had not the courage to ask for. You had hardly

328 APPENDIX.

opened yo'^.r dimmed eyes, heavy with pain and fever,
when you were aware of a face bending over you, keen, in-
deed, and bright, though slightly poxmarked; but so reso-
lute,calm, smiling and kindly that you instantly forgot your
sufferings, forgot the Prussians with their bombs bursting
around you, forgot even the conflagration that was draw-
ing nearer and nearer and threatened soon to swallow up
the barn in which our ambulances had taken shelter.
Good Sister vSt. Claire, you are now with your God, the
voluntary victim of your heart and your faith, but I have
often wished since that you were once more among us,
listening to the thanks and prayers of such of us as are
still alive and never to forget you. But y^u did not hear
even the tenth part of the blessings of those that died
v/ith your name on their lips as they sank to their eternal
sleep tranquilly, resignedly, hopefully, thanks to your
holy ministrations!

"It was the evening of August 16, 1870, the day of our
bloodiest battle — Gravelotte, For hours and hours the
wounded had been carried persistently and in great num-
bers to the rear. In a large barn near Rezon^dlle those of
us had been laid whose intense sufferings would not permit
them to be removed further. Thrown hurriedly down
wherever room could be found, the first arms 3"0u saw ex-
tending towards you, were those of that little dark-faced
woman, her lips smiling, but her eyes glistening with tears.
A few yards only from the held of battle, from the very
thick of the fight; a few yards only from the muddy,blood-
slipping ground where you had just sunk, fully expecting
to be soon trampled to death like so many others, what
heavenly comfort it was to meet such burning charity!
How it at once relieved your physical sufferings, soothed

APPENDIX. 329

off your mortification and drove away your deadening
despair!

*Toor Sister St. Claire! All that evening and all that
long night to get water for the fifty agonized voices calling
for it every moment you had to cross a yard hissing with
bullets, but every five minutes out you went with your two
buckets and back you soon came as serene and undis-
turbed as if God Himself had made you invulnerable.
And so the long night wore away.

"But next morning our army, after a fifteen hours'
valiant struggle and after resting all night on the battle-
field, had to fall back towards Metz, and the barn had to
be immediately vacated. There was no time for using the
regular ambulances, for the Prussians, though they could
not take any of our positions the previous evening, being
heaMly reinforced were now steadily advancing. The
wounded, picked up hastUy and carried out without cere
mony, were piled on trucks, tumbrils and every available
vehicle.

"Oh, the cries! the pains! the sufferings! Still, dear
Sister St. Claire, though for forty-eight hours you hadn't
had a second for your own rest, you contrived to pass con-
tinually from one end of that wretched column to the
other, with a little water for this one, a good word for that,
a smile or friendly nod for a third, your little arms lifting
out of danger a head that leaned over too far, or shifting
into a more comfortable position the poor fellow whose
leg had been cut off during the night and who would
probably be dead in an hour or two. Then you found a
seat for yourself on the last wagon.

"Alas ! you were not there half an hour when the bul-
let struck you — struck you as you were striving to keep a

330 APPENDIX.

poor, wounded, helpless man from rolling; out. A squadron
of Uhlans suddenly cut us off from the army and made us
all prisoners.

"Poor Sister! It was by the hands of our enemies that
the grave was dug where you are now lying in the midst
of those on whom you expended the treasures of your
saintly soul. Of us that survive you there is probably not
one in a thousand that will ever know the name of that
little Sister of the Trinity — in religion Sister St. Claire —
that bright vision of charity flashing continually before us
during the long ride of agony in the barn near Rezonville.

"Your holy limbs are now resting in an unknown cor-
ner of Lforraine^ — no longer your dear France — but your
blessed memory will live forever in the grateful hearts of
those you have died for!"

VI.

LORD NAPIER'S TESTIMONY.

Lord Napier, who held a diplomatic position under
Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, in Constantinople, during the
Crimean War, gives the following testimony to the worth
of the Sisters of Mercy :

"During the distress of the Crimean war the Ambas-
sador called me in one morning and said: ^Co down to
the port ; you will find a ship there loaded with Jewish ex-
iles, Russian subjects from the Crimea. It is jour duty to
disembark them. The Turks will give you a house in
which they may be placed. I turn them over entirely to
you.' I went down to the shore and received about 200
persons, the most miserable objects that could be wit-

APPENDIX. 331

nessed, most of them old men, women and children, sunk
in the lowest depths of indigence and despair. I placed
them in the cold, ruinous lodging allocated to them by
the Ottoman authorities. I went back to the Ambassa-
dor and said : 'Your Excellency, those people are cold and
I have no fuel or blankets; they are hungry, and I have
no food; they are very dirty, and I have no soap; their
hair is in an undesirable condition and I have no combs.
What am I to do with these people?' 'Do?' said the iim-
bassador; 'get a couple of Sisters of Mercy; they will put
all to rights in a moment.' I went, saw the Mother Su-
perior and explained the case. I asked for two Sisters.
They were at once sent. They were ladies of refinement
and intellect. I was a stranger and a Protestant, and I in-
voked their assistance for the benefit of Jews. Yet these
two women made up their bundles and followed me
through the rain without a look, a whisper or a sign of hes-
itation. From that moment my fugitives were saved. No
one saw the labors of those Sisters for months but myself,
and they never endeavored to make a single convert."

In his speeches in after times Lord Napier repeated-
ly referred to the singular zeal and devotedness constantly
shown by the Sisters to the sick of every denomination. On
one occasion, in Edinburgh, he remarked that the Sisters
faithfully kept their promise not to interfere with the re-
ligion of non-Catholics, but, continued his Lordship, "they
made at least one convert ; they converted me, if not to be-
lieve in the Catholic faith, at least to believe in the Sis-
ters of Mercy."

The few months spent at Balaklava by the devoted
Sisters witnessed a repetition of the deeds of heroism
which had achieved such happy results at Scutari and

332 APPENDIX.

Koulali. The cholera and a malignant type of fever had
broken out in those days in the camp. By night as well as
by day the Sisters were called to help the patients, yet
their strength seemed never to fail in their work of charity.
Besides the soldiers, there were sick civilians, Maltese,
Germans, Greeks, Italians, Americans and even negroes,
and to all they endeavored to give some attention.

The medical orders reveal the constant nature of the
nursing required at their hands. At one time the doctor
"requests that a Sister would sit up with his Dutch patient
in No, 9 ward to-night." Again, "Sisters to sit up with the
Maltese and the Arab," "Kind attendance on Jones every
night would be necessary until a notification to the con-
trary be given." "Keep the stump moist; a little cham-
pagne and water to be given during the night." "Elliot is
to be watched all night; powder every half hour; wine in
small dose if necessary." The very confidence placed by
the physicians in their careful treatment added to their
toil. As the deputy purveyor-in-chief reported to the Gov-
ernment in December, 1855: "The medical officer can
safely consign his most critical case to their hands; stimu-
lants or opiates ordered eYery five minutes will be faithful-
ly administered, though the five minutes' labor were re-
peated uninterruptedly for a week."

The heroism of the nuns, however, was now well
known in camp, and never did workers find more sympj?
thetic subordinates than the Sisters had in their orderlier
The fact that they would never lodge complaints or have
the orderlies punished only made the men more zealous in
their service. One of the Sisters found it necessary to cof
rect her orderly. "Perhaps, James," she said, "you do not
wish me to speak to you a little severely." He at once in-

APPENDIX. 333

terrupted her: "Troth, Sister, I glory in your speaking tc
me. Sure, the day I came to Balaklava I cried with joy
when I saw your face." One who had taken a glass too
much was so mortified at being seen by the Rev. Mother —
whom the soldiers call their commander-in-chief — that he
sobbed like a child. Another in the same predicament hid
himself that he might not be seen by the Sister. He had
never hidden from the enemy; a medal with three clasps
bore eloquent testimony to his bravery, "I don't like to
say anything harsh," said the Sister. "Speak, ma'am," in-
terrupted the delinquent; "the words out of your blessed
mouth are like jewels falling over me."

One of the Sisters writes: "We have not a cross here
with anyone. The medical officers aU work beautifully
with us. They quite rely on our obedience. Sir John Hall,
the head medical officer of the army, is quite loud in his
promise of the nuns. The hospital and its hunts are scat-
tered over a hill.The respect of all for the Sisters is daily in-
creasing. Don't be shocked to hear that I am so accus-
tomed to the soldiers now and so sure of their respect and
affection that I don't mind them more than the school chil-
dren." The soldiers in the camp envied the good fortune
of stratagem to have a few words with the nuns. "Please,
sir," they would say to the chaplain, "do send a couple of
us on an errand to the hospital to get a sight of the nuns."

As the time for the nuns' departure approached the
cordial manifestations of respect and kindly feeling were
only the more multiplied. "The grateful affection of the
soldiers (a Sister writes) is most touching, often ludicrous.
They swarm around us like flocks of chickens. A black-
veiled nun, in the midst of red coats all eyes and ears for
whatever she says to them, is an ordinary sight at Bala-

334 APPENDIX.

klava. Our doors were besieged by them to get some little
keepsake; a book in which we write 'Given by a Sister of
Mercy' is so valuable an article that a Protestant declared
he would rather have such a gift than the Victoria Cross
or Crimean medal."

The Sunday after the nuns' departure the men who
went to the chapel sobbed and cried . as though their
hearts would break. When the priest turned to speak to
them and asked their prayers for the safe passage of the
nuns they could not control their emotion. "I was obliged
to cut short my discourse," wrote the chaplain, "else I
should have cried and gobbed with my poor men." This
sympathy was shown by Protestants and Catholics alike,
and from the commander-in-chief to the private soldier,
from the first medical officers to the simple presser in the
surgery, all was a chorus in praise of the "untiring, judic-
ious and gentle nursing of the Sisters of Mercy."

Two Sisters of Mercy were summoned to their crowns
from the hospitals of the East. One was English, a lay
Sister from the convent at Liverpool. She fell a victim to
the cholera which raged at Balaklava. The other was a
choir Sister from Ireland, Sister M. Elizabeth Butler. Al-
ready rumors of peace had brought joy to the camp, when
toward the close of February 7, 1855, she caught typhus
attending the sick and in a few days joyfullj^ bade farewell
to the world. One of the surviving Sisters describes her
funeral. The Eighty-ninth Eegiment obtained the honor
and privilege of bearing the coflBn to the grave. One officer
earnestly desired to be among the chosen, but thought he
was not worthy, as he had not been at Holy Communion on
that morning. The whole medical staff attended. The
Sisters of Charity at the Sardinian camp sent five of their

APPENDIX. 335

number to express sympatliy and condolence. Eight chap-
lains attended to perform the last rites for the heroine of
charity.

The place of interment was beside the departed lay
Sister, on a rocky hill rising over the waters of the Black
Sea. The funeral was a most impressive sight. The sol-
diers in double file, the multitudes of various nations,
ranks and employments, the silence unbroken, save by the
voice of tears, the groups, still as statuary that crowded
the rocks above the grave, the moaning of the sullen
waves beneath, all combined in a weird pageant never to
be forgotten by the thousands that took part in it. The
graves of these cherished Sisters were tended with loving
attention. Marked by crosses and enclosed by a high iron
railing set in cut stone, they are still quite visible from the
Black Sea beneath. Many a pilgrim went thither to strew
the graves with flowers; and to the present day many a
vessel entering the Black Sea lowers its flag in memory of
those heroines, who in the true spirit of charity devoted
their lives to alleviate the suffering of their countrymen.

VII.

VERY REV. JAMES FRANCIS BURLANDO, C. M.

The Very Rev. James Francis Burlando, of the Con-
gregation of the Mission, who is mentioned several times
in the text of this volume, was born on May 6, 1814, in the
city of Genoa, Italy. Very early in life he became im-
pressed with the desire of adopting the priesthood as his
vocation, and on the 16th of February, 1837, his Archbish-

336 APPENDIX.

op, Cardinal Tadini, conferred on Mm the holy orders of
sub-deacon and deacon.

Soon after this he sailed for the United States and en-
listed for the American missions under Rev. John Odin, C.
M., late Archbishop of New Orleans, who at that time was
seeking recruits for the infant seminary at the Barrens,
Missouri. Before Father Burlando could come here he
was obliged to meet and overcome a very strong opposi-
tion on the part of his good father, who, although a fervent
Christian, could not bear the idea of being separated from
his first-born son.

The very day that Father Burlando was to be admit-
ted to the novitiate he perceived his father at the Arch-
episcopal Hall, waiting for an audience with Cardinal Ta-
dini. Guessing at once the motive of such an interview,
namely, that he might exercise his authority and com-
mand the young deacon, in virtue of holy obedience, tt
remain with his father and family, which would preveni
him from carrying out his holy desire, the young man
sought to baffle the intention of his father by seeing the
Archbishop first and securing his permission and blessing.

Accordingly he had recourse to the following strata-
gem: He borrowed from his friends the various articles
of a clerical suit; from one a hat, from another a cassock
differing from his own, from a third a cloak, and, to ren-
der the disguise more complete, he put on a pair of specta-
cles and wig. Thus equipped, he entered the house of the
Cardinal, had a conversation with him, in which he re-
ceived his approbation and blessing, and passed out again
without being recognized by his father, who he left stand-
ing at the door watching closely every young seminarian
who entered. Fearing he might be discovered, the young

APPENDIX. 337

man quickened his pace, and repaired immediately to the
venerable R. Bartholomew Gazzano, then Superior of the.
Lazarists, who received him.

In the following June he left Genoa and repaired to
Turin, where he was ordained priest on the 9th of July by
the Most Rev, Aloysius Fransoni, Archbishop of that See.
To mitigate in some measure the pain which his good fath-
er experienced on account of this separation, Father Bur-
lando wrote him a pressing invitation to honor and gratify
him by being present at his first Mass, on the 10th of July.
Touched by his son's filial respect and affection, he at last
relented and assisted with tearful devotion at the impres-
sive ceremony.

A few weeks after Father Burlando went to the
Mother House, in Paris, whence he set out for New Or-
leans. Having landed safely on the American shore, he
proceeded by steamboat to Missouri, and reached the Sem-
inary of the Barrens towards the close of the same year.
He filled many positions of trust and honor. The last and
most important field of his apostolic labors was the Com-
munity of the Daughters of Charity, at the Central House
of St. Joseph's, near Emmittsburg, Md., whither he re-
paired in the spring of 1853, and where he remained for
the space of twenty-three years.

"During all that time," says Father Gandolfo, his as-
sistant, "I had more occasion than anyone else of observ-
ing his noble qualities of mind and heart. As a Superior
he was always kind, discreet, obliging, generous, amiable
and edifying in all that regarded the observance even of
the least rule, beginning from rising at 4 o'clock in the
morning at the first sound of the Benedicamus Domino.
He was exceedingly charitable and ever ready to assist me

338 APPENDIX.

at the first request in the perfonnance of my duties, and
this notwithstanding his frequent attacks of neuralgia
and weal^ness of the digestive organs. I never saw him
misspend a minute of his time. If he was not occupied in
answering his numerous correspondents he was drawing
plans of hospitals and other buildings, or attending to
similar important affairs of the Community, He never re-
tired to rest without having first read the many letters he
daily received from every quarter of the United States, Al-
though he frequently retired very late and slept but a few
hours during the night, he was always ready for the hard
labor of the next day,"

It was largely due to the wise administration of this
worthy director that the Community owed, and owes, its
singular prosperity and development. It suffices to state
that when he assumed the duties of his position there were
only three hundred members distributed among thirty-six
houses, and he lived to see the white Cornette on the brow
of one thousand and forty-five Daughters of St, Vincent,
having under their control ninety-seven establishments
for the service of the poor, affording relief for almost every
species of misfortune. Owing to his superior knowledge of
architecture, he not only planned but personally super-
vised the erection of the greater number of these charita-
ble institutions.

It would be impossible to enumerate the long and
painful journeys he took, the multiplied dangers to which
he exposed himself, and the many privations he endured
for the particular welfare of the different establishments
of the Sisters, How many sleepless nights he passed dur-
ing our late civil war! There were Sisters in the North
and Sisters in the South, but, by his constant vigilance,

APPENDIX. 339

his consummate prudence, his repeated fatherly admoni-
tions^ and especially by his continual and fervent prayers,
he had the consolation of seeing the entire Community
free from all reproach and danger.

He has left many valuable volumes which prove his
ability as a writer as well as a thinker. One of these is
the "Ceremonial," which was entrusted to him by the Most
Rev. Archbishop Kenrick, approved by the Provincial
Council, and which is now largely used throughout the
United States. In this valuable work all the details rela-
tive to the Mass and offices of the Church, the sacred ves-
sels and other articles used are minutely described, so that
solemnity, beauty and becoming uniformity may be main-
tained. He also compiled the life of Father De Andreis,
the pioneer of the Lazerists in this country. To him we
are also indebted for the publication of the beautiful life
of "Sister Eugenie, Daughter of Charity."

A person remarked that he must be well and exten-
sively known throughout the United States, as he was al-
ways traveling and had to register his name in the hotels.
"Oh, no," he replied, "I give my name in as many different
hinguages as I can. In this way I pass unnoticed, and get
a little recreation at the expense of the poor recorder, who
is often at a loss to spell the foreign name. He looks be-
wildered, repeats it several times, and casts an inquiring
glance at me; meantime I pretend stupidity and leave him
write whatever he likes. Then, you see, Francis Burlando
is not known."

This devoted priest breathed his last on Sunday, Feb-
ruary 16, 1873, at the close of a day well spent in the ex-
ercise of his sacred functions. The funeral service took
place in the Central House of the Sisters of Charity, St.

21

340 APPENDIX.

Joseph's, Emmittsburg, February 19, and the remains were
interred in the little cemetery of the Sisters of Charity, be-
sides the mortuary chapel, wherein repose the venerated
remains of Saintly Mother Seton, foundress of the Sisters
of Charity in the United States,

VIII.

MOTHER SETON.

Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, the founder and first
Superior of the Sisters of Charity in the United States,
was one of the most remarkable women in the history of
the Catholic Church in America. She was reared in the
doctrines of the Protestant Episcopal Church and did not
embrace the Catholic faith until after the death of her
husband.

This distinguished woman, who was bom in the city
of New York on the 28th of August, 1774, was a younger
daughter of Dr. Richard Bayley, an eminent physician of
the metropolis. Her mother died when she was but three
years of age, but her father watched over her with all the
loving care of a good parent. As Miss Bayley advanced in
years, nature and education combined in developing those
admirable traits of character that were to make her so
lovable and merciful in later life. All of her friends and
relatives were members of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, but the physician's daughter was more fervent in
her religious duties than any of those with whom she was
associated. From her earliest years she wore a small cru-
cifix on her person, and was frequently heard to express

APPENDIX. 341

regret and astonishment that the custom was not more
general among the members of her church.

At the age of twenty Miss Bayley was married to
William Seton, a prosperous and most estimable merchant,
of New York city. It was a happy marriage, and hus-
band and wife lived in mutual love and esteem. In 1800
Mr. Seton became embarrassed through a reaction in bus-
iness, caused mainly by the consequences of the Revolu-
tionary war. In this crisis Mrs. Seton was a help-mate in
every sense of the word. She not only cheered her hus-
band by her encouraging counsel, but rendered him prac-
tical aid in arranging his business affairs.

In the course of her married life Mrs. Seton became
the mother of five children, Anna Maria, William, Richard,
Catherine Josephine and Rebecca. She was a model
mother, restraining, guiding and educating her offspring
with a mingling of tact, tenderness and edifying example.
She did not confine her goodness to her children, but was
ever ready to assist the poor and suffering. One of her
biographers says she was so zealous in this respect "that
she and a relative who accompanied her were commonly
called Protestant Sisters of Charity."

The death of Mrs. Seton's father in 1801 was a source
of great sorrow to this devoted woman. Years had only
served to cement the affectionate relations between father
and daughter. During the last three or four years of his
life Dr. Bayley was Health OfiQcer at the Port of New
York. He was naturally of a philanthropic disposition,
and his official duties called him to a field that prt sented
an unbounded field for Christian charity. It was while in
the discharge of his duty among the immigrants that Dr.

342 APPENDIX.

Bayley contracted tlie illness which carried him to his
grave within a week's time.

Mrs. Seton had scarcely recovered from the shock of
her father's death when her husband's health, which had
never been robust, began to decline rapidly. A sea voyage
and a sojourn in Italy were recommended. Mrs. Seton
could not permit her husband to travel alone in his weak
and exhausted state, and she accompanied him, along with
her oldest child, a girl of eight. The other children were
committed to the care of relatives in New York city. The
child caught the whooping cough on the way over, and
the anxious mother was constantly occupied in nursing the
husband and daughter. Before landing the unfortunate
trio were detained for many days at the lazaretto station in
the harbor of Leghorn. After they landed the good wife
was untiring in her attentions to her husband, but, in spite
of her love and solicitude, he died on the 27th of Decem-
ber "among strangers and in a foreign land."

On the following 8th of April, with her tears still
fresh upon the grave of her devoted husband, Mi*s. Seton
sailed for home. Prior to this voyage and during the fifty-
six days that it occupied, Mrs. Seton began to take a deep
interest in the doctrines and practices of the Catholic
Church. She eagerly devoured all of the literature upon
the subject that opportunity offered, and also learned
much by frequent conversations with friends. Deep medi-
tation finally strengthened her in the desire to become a
Catholic. Her only fear was that a change in her religious
faith might bring about a coldness and a severance of the
friendship that existed between herself and her friends
and relatives — particularly her pastor — Rev. J. H, Ho-
bart, a man of singular talent and goodness, who after-

APPENDIX. 343

wards became the Protestant Episcopal Bishop of New
York.

Writing of the possibility of such an estrangement in
her diary at this time, Mrs. Seton says with evident feel-
ing: *1f your dear friendship and esteem must be the
price of my fidelity to what I believe to be the truth, I can-
not doubt the mercy of God, who, by depriving me of one of
my remaining dearest ties on earth, will certainly draw
me nearer to Him." She was not mistaken. When she re-
turned home the coldness of many of her Protestant
friends was a great trial to her warm and still bleeding
heart. The storm of opposition added to her grief.

The fact that Mrs. Seton was in doubt upon the ques-
tion of religion made her a subject of attack for the friends
of all denominations. Writing of this, she says: "I had
a most affectionate note from Mr. Hobart to-day, asking
me how I could ever think of leaving the Church in which
I was baptized. But, though whatever he says has the
weight of my partiality for him, as well as the respecl it
seems to me I could scarcely have for anyone else, yet that
question made me smile; for it is like saying that wherever
a child is born and wherever its parents place it, there it
will find the truth; and he does not hear the droll invita-
tions made me every day since I am in my little new homt
and old friends come to see me.'

"It has already happened that one of the most excel-
lent women I ever knew, who is of the Church of Scotland,
finding me unsettled about the great object of a true faith,
said to me: -'Oh, do, dear soul, come and hear our J. Mason
and I am sure you will join us.'

"A little after came one whom I loved, for the purest
and most innocent of manners, of the Society of Quakers

344 APPENDIX.

(to which I have always been attached), she coaxed me,
too, with artless persuasion : 'Betsey, I tell thee, thee had
better come with us.' And my faithful old friend of the

Anabaptist meeting, Mrs. T , says, with tears in her

eyes : 'Oh ! could you be regenerated ; could you know our
experiences and enjoy wilh us our heavenly banquet.'
And my good old Mary, the Methodist, groans and con-
templates, as she calls it, over my soul, so misled because
I have got no convictions. But, oh, my Father and My
God ! all that will not do for me. Your word is truth, and
without contradiction, whatever it is. One faith, one hope,
one baptism, I look for, whatever it is, and I often think my
sins, my miseries, hide the light. Yet I will cling and hold
to my God to the last gasp, begging for that light, and
never change until I find it."

Mrs. Seton's doubts were finally set at rest, and on
Ash Wednesday, 1805, she was received into Catholicism
in old St. Peter's Church, New York city. The embarrassed
state of her husband's finances at the time of his death
had involved her, and she opened a boarding house for some
of the boys who attended a neighboring school. Some
months later Miss Cecilia Seton, the youngest sister-in-law
of Mrs. Seton, followed her into the Catholic Church. The
one thought of Mrs. Seton was now to devote her life to
the poor and to the Church. The opportunity came sooner
than she anticipated. The co-operation of the Church au-
thorities, and financial resources being forthcoming, a lit-
tle Community was formed in St. Joseph's Valley, Em-
mittsburg. Vows were taken in accordance with the
rules of the institute of the Sisters of Char-
ity, of France, and in a few months ten
Sisters were employed with the instruction of

APPENDIX. 345

youth and the care of the sick. They were poor but happy.
The first Christmas day, for instance, "they rejoiced to
have some smoked herring for dinner." Rigid regulations
were adopted for the government of the new order, and its
growth was remarkable. Mother Seton had the satisfac-
tion of receiving her eldest daughter into the Sisterhood.

Mrs. Seton's youngest daughter lived into the nineties
and died recently in the Mercy Convent, New York, where
she had lived as a Sister of Mercy for over forty years.
The sons of Mrs. Seton were prosperously launched in
business enterprises, \

Mother Seton died on the 4th of January, 1821, in
the forty-seventh year of her age. Her bedside was sur-
rounded by the dark-robed Sisters of Charity and her only
surviving daughter, Josephine. Her end was happy and
tranquil. Her career was one of great piety and useful-
ness. She has gone but her memory will live forever
through the perpetration of the great order that she planl
ed in the United States, and which has already grown to
projwrtions far beyond the most sanguine expectation of
its tender and affectionate founder.

IX.

"THE SISTER OF CHARITY."
This beautiful poem, descriptive of a Sister of Charity,
written by Gerald Griffin, has taken its place among those
precious bits of literature that never die. The author was
born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1803, and began his liter-
ary career as a reporter for a London daily. He wrote many
novels, a tragedy and various poems. He died in Cork, in
1840.

346 APPENDIX.

A correspondent whose opinion is valued very highly
writes to remind the author of the "Angels of the Battle-
field" that a society of Sisters of Charity was first estab-
lished in Dublin by Mary Mother Aikenhead early in this
century. It was these ladies, particularly a sister and a
cousin of the poet who joined Mother Aikenhead, that in-
spired Gerald Grififln's beautiful lines. The Irish Sisters
of Charity make perpetual vows, wear veils and dress some-
what similar to the Sisters of Mercy. They are not con-
nected with any other congregation. The "Sister of Char-
ity" is as foUows;

She was once a lady of honor and wealth,
Bright glowed on her features the roses of health,
Her vesture was blended of silk and of gold,
And her motion shook perfume from every fold;
Joy reveled around her — love shone at her side,
And gay was her smile as the glance of a bride;
And light was her step in the mirth-sounding hall
When she heard of the daughters of Vincent De Paul.

She felt in her spirit the summons of grace,
That called her to live for the suffering race;
And heedless of pleasure, of comfort, of home.
Rose quickly like Mary and answered, "I come."
She put from her person the trappings of pride.
And passed from her home with the joy of a bride;
Nor wept at the threshold as onward she moved.
For her heart was on fire in the cause it approved.

Lost ever to fashion — to vanity lost.
That beauty that once was the song and the toast.
No more in the ball room that figure we meet.
But gliding at dusk to the wretch's retreat.
Forgot in the hall is that high-sounding name,
For the Sister of Charity blushes at fame;
Forgot are the claims of her riches and birth.
For she barters for heaven the glory of earth.

APPENDIX. 347

Those feet that to music could gracefully move

Now bear her aloDe on the mission of love;

Those hands that once dangled the perfume and gem

Are tending the helpless or lifted for them;

That voice that once echoed the song of the vain

Now whispers relief to the bosom of pain;

And the hair that was shining with diamond and pearl

Is wet with the tears of a penitent girl.

Her down-bed a pallet — her trinkets a bead.
Her lustre — one taper that serves her to read;
Her sculpture — the crucifix nailed by her bed;
Her paintings one print of the crown-thorned head;
Her cushion — the pavement that wearies her knees;
Her music — the Psalm or the sigh of disease;
The delicate body lives mortified there,
And the feast is forsaken for fasting and prayer.

Yet not to the service of heart and mind,

Are the cares of that heaven-minded virgin confined.

L/ike Him whom she loves, to the mansions of grief

She hastes with the tidings of joy and relief.

SShe strengthens the weary — she comforts the weak,

And soft is her voice in the ear of the sick;

Where want and affliction on mortals attend

The Sister of Charity there is a friend.

Unshrinking where pestilence scatters his breath.
Like an angel she moves mid the vapor of death,
Where rings the loud musket and flashes the sword
Unfearing she walks, for she follows the Lord.
How sweetly she bends o'er each plague-tainted face
With looks that are lighted with holiest grace;
How kindly she dresses each suffering limb,
For she sees in the wounded the image of Him.

348 APPENDIX.

Behold her, ye worldly! Behold her, ye vain!
Who shrink from the pathway of virtue and pain;
Who yield up to pleasure your nights and your days,
Forgetful of service, forgetful of praise;
Yet lazy philosophers — self-seeking men —
Ye fireside philanthropists, great at the pen.
Plow stands in the balance your eloquence weighed,
With the life and the deeds of that high-born maid?

SISTERS OF CHARITY.

(In Mr. Southey's "Sir Thomas More" the following
account of the Beguines of Belgium and the Sisters of
Charity of France is reprinted from the London Medical
Gazette, Vol. I.)

A few summers ago I passed through Flanders on my
way to Germany, and at the hospital at Bruges saw some
of the Beguines, and heard the physician, with whom I was
intimate, speak in strong terms of their services. He
said: "There are no such nurses." I saw them in the
wards attending on the sick, and in the chapel of the hos-
pital on their knees washing the floor. They were ob-
viously a superior class of women, and the contrast was
striking between these menial offices and the respecta-
bility of their dress and appearance; but the Beguinage of
Ghent is one of their principal establishments, and, spend-
ing a Sunday there, I went in the evening to vespers. It
was twilight when I entered the chapel. It was dimly
lighted by two or three tall tapers before the altar and a
few candles at the remotest end of the building, in the or-
chestra, but the body of the chapel was in deep gloom,

APPENDIX. 349

filled from end to end with several hundreds of these nuns
seated in rows, in their dark dresses and white cowls, si-
lent and motionless, excepting now and then one of them
started up, and, stretching out her arms in the attitude of
the crucifixion, stood in that posture many minutes, then
sank and disappeared among the crowd. The gloom of the
chapel, the long line of these unearthly-looking figures,
like so many corpses propped up in their grave clothes —
the dead silence of the building, once only interrupted by a
few voices in the distant orchestra chanting vespers, was
one of the most striking sights I ever beheld. To some
readers, the occasional attitude of the nuns may seem an
absurd expression of fanaticism, but they are anything but
fanatics. Whoever is accustomed to the manners of Con-
tinental nations knows that they employ a grimace in
everything. I much doubt whether, apart from the inter-
nal emotion of piety, the external expression of it is grace-
ful in anyone, save only a little child in his night-shirt, on
his knees, saying his evening prayer.

The Beguinage, or residence of the Beguines at Ghent,
is a little town of itself, adjoining the city, and inclosed
from it. The transition from the crowded streets of Ghent
to the silence and solitude of the Beguinage is very strik-
ing. The houses in which the Beguines reside are con-
tiguous, each having its small garden, and on the door the
name, not of the resident, but of the protecting saint of
the house; these houses are ranged into streets. There is
also the large church,which we visited,and a burial ground,
in which there are no monuments. There are upwards of
six hundred of these nuns in the Beguinage of Ghent, and
about six thousand in Brabant and Flanders. They re-
ceive sick persons into the Beguinage, and not only nurse,

350 APPENDIX.

but support them, until they are recovered; they also go
out to nurse the sick. They are bound by no vow excepting
to be chaste and obedient while they remain in the order ;
they have the power of quitting it and returning again
into the world whenever they please, but this, it is said,
they seldom or never do. They are most of them women,
unmarried, or widows past the middle of life. In 1244 a
synod at Fritzlau decided that no Beguine should be
younger than 40 years of age. They generally dine together
in the refectory; their apartments are barely yet com-
fortably furnished, and, like all the habitations of Flanders,
remarkably clean. About their origin and name little is
known by the Beguines themselves, or is to be found in
books. For the following particulars I am chiefly indebted
to the ''Histoire des Ordres Monastiques" (tome viii) :

Some attributed both their origin and name to St.
Begghe, who lived in the seventh century ; others to Lam-
bert le Begue, who lived about the end of the twelfth cen-
tury. This latter saint is said to have founded two Com-
munities of them at Liege, one for women, in 1173, the
other for men, in 1177. After his death they multiplied
fast, and were introduced by St. Louis into Paris and other
French cities. The plan flourished in France, and was
adopted under other forms and names. In 1443 Nicholas
RoUin, Chancellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy,
founded a hospital at Beaune and brought six Beguines
from Malines to attend upon it, and the hospital became so
famed for the care of its patients that the opulent people
of the neighborhood, when sick, were often removed to
it, preferring its attendance to what they received at
home. In one part of the hospital there was a large square
court, bordered with galleries leading to apartments suit-

APPENDIX. 351

able to such patients; wlien thej quitted the hospital the
donations which they left were added to its funds.

The Soeurs de la Charite, of France, are another order
of religious nurses, but different from the Beguines in be-
ing bound by monastic vows. They originated in a charity
sermon, perhaps the most useful and extensive in its influ-
ence that ever was preached. Vincent de Paul, a celebrat-
ed missionary, preaching at Chatillon, in 1617, recommend-
ed a poor sick family of the neighborhood to the care of his
congregation. At the conclusion of the sermon a number
of persons visited the sick family with bread, wine, meat
and other comforts. This led to the formation of a commit-
tee of charitable women, under the direction of Vincent
de Paul, who went about relieving the sick poor of the
neighborhood, and met every month to give an account of
their proceedings to their superior. Such was the origin
of the celebrated order of the Soeurs de la Oharite.
Wherever this missionary went he attempted to form sim-
ilar establishments. From the country they spread to cit-
ies, and first to Paris, where, in 1629, they were established
in the parish of St. Savious.

And in 1625 a female devotee, named Le Gras, joined
the order of the Soeurs de la Charite. She was married
young to M. Le Gras, one of whose family had founded a
hospital at Puy, but, becoming a widow in 1625, in the
thirty-fourth year of her age, she made a vow of celibacy,
and dedicated the rest of her life to the service of the poor.
In her Vincent de Paul found a great accession. Under his
direction she took many journeys, visiting and inspecting
the establishments which he had founded. She was com-
monly accompanied by a few pious ladies. Many women
of quality enrolled themselves in the order, but the su-

352 APPENDIX.

periors were assisted by inferior servants. The Hotel Dieu
was the first hospital in Paris where they exercised their
vocation. This they visited every day, supplying the pa-
tients with comforts above what the hospital afforded, and
administering, besides, religious consolation. By degrees
they spread into all the provinces of France, and at length
the Queen of Poland requested Mademoiselle Le Gras, for
though a widow that was her title, to send her a supply of
Soeurs de la Charite, who were thus established in Var-
sovia, in 1652. At length, after a long life spent in the
service of charity and religion, Mademoiselle Le Gras died
on the 15th of March, 1660, nearly seventy years of age,
and for a day and a half her body lay exposed to the gaze
of the pious.

A country clergyman, who spent several years in va-
rious parts of France, gives an account of the present state
of the order, which, together with what I have gathered
from other sources, is in substance as follows: It consists
of women of all ranks, many of them of the higher orders.
After a year's novitiate in the convent, they take a vow
which binds them to the order for the rest of their lives.
They have two objects, to attend the sick and to educate
the poor; they are spread all over France, are the superior
nurses at the hospitals, and are to be found in every town,
and often even in villages. Go into the Paris hospitals at
almost any hour of the day, and you will see one of these
respectable-looking women, in her black gown and white
hood, passing slowly from bed to bed, and stopping to in-
quire of some poor wretch what little comfort he is fancy-
ing will alleviate his sufferings. If a parochial cure
wants assistance in the care of his flock he applies to the
Order of Les Soeurs de la Charite. Two of them (for they

APPENDIX. 353

generally go in couples), set out on their charitable mis-
sion; wherever they travel their dress pro-
tects them. "Even more enlightened i>ersons
than the common peasantry hail it as a
happy omen when on a journey with a Soeur de la Charite
happens to travel with them, and even instances are re-
corded in which their presence has saved travelers from
the attacks of robbers." During the Revolution they were
rarely molested. They were the only religious order per-
mitted openly to wear their dress and pursue their voca-
tion. Government gives a hundred francs a year to each
Sister, besides her traveling expenses; and if the parish
where they go cannot maintain them, they are supported
out of the funds of the order. In old age they retire to
their convents and spend the rest of their lives in educat-
ing the novitiates. Thus, like the vestal virgins of old,
the fir-st part of their life is spent learning their duties,
the second in practicing them, and the last in teaching
them.

XI.

"THE ANGELS OF BUENA VISTA."

(Written by John Greenleaf Whittier with reference to the work
of the Sisters of Mercy at the battle of Buena Vista, during the
Mexican war.)

Speak and tell us, our Ximena, looking northward far away,

O'er the camp of the invaders, o'er the Mexican army.

Who is losing? Who is winning? Are they far or come they near?

Look ahead, and tell us, Sister, whither rolls the storm we hear.

"Down the hille of Augostura still the storm of battle rolls;
Blood is flowing, men are dying; God have mercy on their souls!"
Who is losing? Who is winning?— "over hill and over plain,
I see but smoke of cannon, clouding through the mountain rain."

354 APPENDIX.

Holy Mother! keep our brothers! Look, Ximena, look once more.
"Still I see the fearful whirlwind rolling darkly as before,
Bearing on in strange confiieion, friend and foeman, foot and horse.
Like some wild and troubled torrent sweeping down its mountain
course."

Look forth once more, Ximena! "Oh! the smoke has rolled away;
And I see the Northern rifles gleaming down the ranks of gray.
Hark! that sudden blast of bugles! there the troop of Minon wheels,
There the Northern horses thunder, with the cannon at their heels.

"Jesu, pity! how it thickens! Now retreat and now advance!
Right against the blazing cannon showers Pueblo's charging lance!
Down they go, the brave young riders; horse and foot together fall;
Like a plowshare in the fallow through them ploughs the Northern

ball.'
Nearer came the storm and nearer, rolling fast and frightful on;
Speak, Ximena, speak and tell us who has lost and who has wonV
"Alas, alas! I know not, friend and foe together fall,
O'er the dying rush the living; pray my Sisters for them all."

"Lo! the wind the smoke is lifting; Blessed Mother save my brain!
I can see the wounded crawling slowly out from heaps of slain.
Now they stagger, blind and bleeding; now they fall and strive to rise;
Hasten, Sisters, haste and save them, lest they die before our eyes.

"O my heart's love, O my dear one! lay thy poor head on my knee;
Dost thou know the lips that kiss thee? Cans't thou hear meV

Cans't thou seeV
Oh, my husband, brave and gentle! O my Bemal, look once more
On the blessed cross before thee! Mercy! Mercy! all is o'er!"

Dry thy tears, my poor Ximena; lay thy dear one down to rest;
Let his hands be meekly folded, lay the cross upon his breast;
Let his dirge be sung hereafter, and his funeral masses said;
To-day, thou poor beveaved one, the living ask thy aid.

Close beside her, faintly, faintly moaning, fair and young a soldier

lay,
Torn with shot and pierced with lances, bleeding slow his life away ;
But, as tenderly before him the lorn Ximena knelt,
She saw the Northern ea gle shining on his pistol belt.

APPENDIX. 355

With a stifled cry of horror straight she turned away her head;

With a sad and bitter feehng look'd she back upon her dead;

But she heard the youth's low moaning, and his struggling breath of

pain,
And she raised the cooling water to his parching lips again.

Whisper'd low the dying soldier, press'd her hand and faintly smiled.
Was that pitying face his mother's? Did she watch besides her child V
All his stronger words with meaning her woman's heart supplied;
With her kiss upon his forehead, "Mother!" murmur'd he and died.

"A bitter curse upon them, poor boy, who led thee forth.
From some gentle sad-eyed mother, weeping, lonely in the North!"
Spoke the mournful Mexic woman, as she laid him with her dead,
And turn'd to soothe the living, and bind the wounds which bled.

Look forth once more Ximena! like a cloud before the wind
Rolls the battle down the mountains leaving blood and death behind.
Oh! they plead in vain for mercy — in the dust the wounded strive;
Hide your faces, holy angels! O thou Christ of God forgive!

Sink, O night, among thy mountains! let the cool gray shadows fall;
Dying brothers, fighting demons, drop thy curtain over all!
Through the thickening winter twilight, wide apart the battle rolled.
In its sheath the sabre rested and the cannon's mouth grew cold.

But the noble Mexic women still their holy task pursued,

Through that long dark night of sorrow worn and faint and lacking

food;
Over weak and suffering brothers, with a tender care they hung.
And the dying foeman bless'd them in a strange and Northern tongue.

Not wholly lost, O Father, is this evil world of ours;
Upward, through its blood and ashes spring afresh the Eden flowers;
From its smoking hill of battle love and pity send their prayer.
And still Thy white-wing'd angels hover dimly in our air.

22

356 . APPENDIX.

XII.

CATHERINE ELIZABETH McAULEY.

Miss Catherine Elizabeth McAuley, the foundress of
the Order of Sisters of Mercy, ranks high among the nota-
ble women whose achievements have enriched the history
of the Catholic Church, The religious institution first
planted by her in the city of Dublin has spread to such an
extent that its branches now spread into at least every
quarter of the English-speaking globe. The communities
of the Sisters of Mercy in the United States have done ex-
cellent work in many fields, but they particularly distin-
guished themselves as nurses during the unhappy conflict
between the North and the South.

Miss McAuley was bom September 29, 1787, at Stor-
manstown, Dublin, Ireland. She was the daughter of
pious, well-known and respectable parents. Her father
was especially prominent by reason of his goodness to the
poor and the unfortunate. One of his regular practices
was to have all the poor of the vicinity come to his house
on Sundays and holidays for the purpose of instructing
them in their religion. Both father and mother died when
the subject of this sketch was very young.

Shortly after this unfortunate event Catherine was
adopted by Mr. and Mrs. William Callahan, who belonged
to a family that was distantly connected with the mother
of Miss McAuley. Her foster-parents, although very
worthy people, were bitterly prejudiced against the relig-
ion practiced by their adopted child. They were so op-
posed to anything Catholic that they would not permit a
crucifix or a pious picture in the house. Despite this, Cath-

APPENDIX. 357

erine attended to her religious duties with great regularity
and fidelity, and by her gentleness succeeded in disarm-
ing any anger or annoyance that they might have other-
wise felt regarding her course.

She was a model of all the virtues, and this fact did
not escape the attention of her foster-parents. Dean Gaff-
ney, writing of her at this period, says: "Everyone who
had distress to be relieved, affliction to be mitigated, trou-
bles to be encountered, came to her, and to the best of her
ability she advised them what to do. Her zeal made her
a missionary in her district." In these works of charity
and usefulness she continued for several years, during
which she was rendering herself dearer and dearer to her
adopted parents. In the course of a few years both these
estimable people died, but not before the gentle foster-child
had led both of them into the Catholic Church. Catherine
was left the sole heiress of Mr. Callahan, and at once made
arrangements for systematically distributing food and
clothing to the poor.

Miss McAuley was now in a position to realize her
early vision of founding an institution in which servants
and other women of good character might, when out of
work, find a temporary home and be shielded from the
dangers to which the unprotected members of the sex art.
exposed. She unfolded her plans to the Very Rev. Di.
Annstrong and Very Rev. Dr. Blake, her spiritual ad-
visers.

"It was deemed advisable," says Dean Murphy, writ-
ing of this, "not to take a house already built and occupied
for other purposes, and which she would have some diffi-
culty in adapting to her own designs, but to secure a plot
of ground that had never been built upon, and to erect an

358 APPENDIX.

edifice for the honor and glory of Grod that had never been
profaned by the vices and folly of the world, and which
should be as holy in its creation as in its use, and be dedi-
cated to Grod from its very foundation." The building was
constructed and put into operation within a reasonably
short time. When finished it was discovered that the arch-
itect had created a building which for all purposes could
be used as a convent.

This was regarded as a fortunate mistake. In the be-
ginning Miss McAuley had no thought of founding a re-
ligious institute, but in working out the ideas that were
near to her heart she imperceptibly and almost uncon-
sciously drifted towards that end. Daniel O'Connell, the
great Irish liberator, was a friend and patron of Miss Mc-
Auley, and frequently visited her establishment, which he
regarded as filling a long-felt want in the Irish capital. In
1827 O'ConneU presided over a Christmas dinner given by
Miss McAuley to the poor children of Dublin.

In 1828, at the suggestion of the Archbishop of the
Diocese, she formed the Order of the Sisters of Mercy.
There had been a ''Royal, Military and Religious Order of
Our Lady of Mercy," dating back to the twelfth century,
and this new order, founded by a pious young woman, was
largely based upon the old one, except that it was intended
for women and not for men. Miss McAuley frequently
said that what she desired was to found an order whose
members would combine the silence, recollection and pray-^
er of the Carmelite with the active zeal of a Sister of
Charity. It seems to be generally conceded that she suc-
ceeded in achieving her purpose. Three words, "works
of mercy," briefly teU the story of the character of the la-
bors of the Sisters of Mercy. Miss McAuley did not finally

APPENDIX. 359

complete her laudable plan without having to overcome
many obstacles, and to set aside some very bitter opposi-
tion, part of which came, not only from her own relatives,
but from bishops and priests as well.

A few years after the dedication of her institute Miss
McAuley and a few chosen companions decided that the
high purpose to which they had consecrated their lives
could be carried out if they would enter the religious
state. They were admitted to one of the convents of the
Presentation Order, and after a novitiate lasting one
year she and her companions received the religious
habit.

Tn October, 1881, she professed and was canonically
appointed by the Archbishop as Superior of the new order.
The costume worn by the members of the order was de-
vised by Mother Catherine, as she was thereafter called.
The Order grew rapidly in numbers and in prominence.
The life of its first Mother and foundress was active and
edifying. Her labors were not confined to any particular
work, but embraced everything that was in the interest
and for the benefit of the poor and unfortunate. In 1832
she won enduring laurels by assuming charge of the chol-
era hospital in Dublin.

She died on November 11, 1837, resigned and happy,
and furnished an example of pious fortitude to the Sisters
that crowded about her deathbed. The Order that she
founded, as it exists to-day, is her best monument. Begin-
ning in Ireland in 1827 it was afterwards successfully in-
troduced into England, Newfoundland, Australia, New
Zealand, South America and the United States of Amer-
ica.

360 APPENDIX.

xni.

CLERICAL VETERANS.

Notre Dame, Indiana, enjoys the distinction of a
Grand Army Post composed of Catholic clergymen, most
of whom are members of the faculty of Notre Dame Uni-
versity. The organization was officially entered on Oc-
toher 6, 1897, as Post No. 569, Department of Indiana.
Very Rev. William E. Corby, C. S, C, the commander of
the new post, was chaplain of the Irish Brigade, and is
now the provincial, or head officer, of the order of the Holy
Cross in the United States. Dr. Corby is also the chap-
lain of the Indiana Commandery of the Loyal Legion. To
this position he was nominated by General Lew Wallace.

The membership of the new post will be very small,
but large enough to have a few famous fighters and great
men of the war. With the exception of Colonel William
E. Haynes, the only lay member, the post is composed al-
together of members of the congregation of the Holy Cross.
The following complete the roster :

Very Rev. William Corby, C. S. C, chaplain Eighty-
eighth New York Vounteers, Irish Brigade.

Rev. Peter P. Cooney, C. S. C, chaplain Thirty-fifth
Medina.

James McLain (Brother Leander), C. S. C, B Com-
pany, Twenty-fourth United States Infantry.

William A. Olmsted, C. S. C, captain and lieutenant
colonel Second Infantry, New York Volunteers, colonel
Fifty-ninth New York Veteran Volunteers ; brigadier gen-
eral by brevet, commandery First Brigade, Second Divis-
ion, Second Army Corps, Army of the Potomac.

APPENDIX. 361

Mark A. Willis (Brother Jolin Chrysostom, C. S. 0.),
I Company, Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers.

Nicholas A. Bath (Brother Cosmos, C. S. C), D Com-
pany, Second United States Artillery.

James Mantle (Brother Benedict, C. S, C), A Com-
pany, First Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery and Sixth
United States Cavalry.

John Mclnerny (Brother Eustathius, C. S. C), H Com-
pany, Eighty-third Ohio Volunteers.

Joseph Staley (Brother Agathus, C. S. C), C Com-
pany, Eighth Indiana Eegulars.

Ignatz Mayer (Brother Ignatius, C. S. C), C Company,
Seventy-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers and One Hundred
and Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania Voluteers.

James C. Malloy (Brother Kaphael, C. S. C), B Com-
pany, One Hundred and Thirty-third Pennsylvania Volun-
teers.

Colonel William E. Haynes.

General Olmsted, who is studying for the priesthood,
is much interested in the little gathering. He is justly
proud of the work of his men in the celebrated Hancock's
Division. He refers to the Government reports in every
case as proof of the bravery of his soldiers. The General
said not long ago in an interview: "Very much that is
said of me is not true, but to show you that my men were
brave, I give you the reports from the department at
Washington." The General read : " 'The losses of the First
Brigade, Second Division, Second Corps — my brigade —
were greater in the battle of Gettysburg than those that
occurred to any one brigade in the army. There was, be-
side, a total casualty of 763 killed and wounded out of 1246
men at Antietam, a percentage of 61."

362 APPENDIX.

Father Corby has the honor of being the only chap-
lain to give absolution under fire. The event of his giving
absolution at Gettysburg to the Irish Brigade is the best
known of his achievements in chaplain life. It is said that
every man, Catholic and Protestant, knelt before the rock
upon which he stood, and the colors were lowered. Then
they went out and fought, and how many fell \ipon that
bloody field is too well known to be repeated. Father
Corby, although an old man, is hale and hearty, and does
all his work as provincial of the order without the aid of a
secretary.

Rev. Peter Cooney also has a brilliant war record, but
he and Father Corby are by no means the only two who
went to war from Notre Dame. In all there were eight
priests who went forth to service as chaplains in the war.
Beside these Mother Mary Angela, a cousin of James C
Blaine, went forth with a large number of sisters to nurse
the wounded and care for the dying. To these also great
praise is due.

There was much enthusiasm in Notre Dame over the
organization exercises, and among those present or who
sent their congratulations were General Lew Wallace,
General MulhoUand, of Philadelphia ; Colonel J. A. Smith,
of Indianapolis; General J. A. Golden, of New York; Gen-
eral William J. Sewall, Colonel R. S. Robertson, of Fort
Wayne ; General J. A. Starburg, of Boston ; Captain Flor-
ence McCarthy, of New York ; Captain Emil A. Dapper, of
Grand Rapids; Captain J. J. Abercrombie, of Chicago;
Department Commander James S. Dodge, with his full
staff. The G. A. R. post from Elkhart and two posts from
South Bend helped to muster in the clerical A^eterans.
Commendatory messages were also received from a large
number of i>osts and leaders in the G. A. R.

APPENDIX. 363

XIV.
CATHOLICS m THE WAR.

St. Teresa's Church, at the northeast corner of Broad
and Catherine streets, was temporarily used as a hospital
for wounded soldiers during the war. On July 4, 1897,
Rev. Joseph V. O'Connor, one of the eloquent priests of
the diocese of Philadelphia, delivered an address in this
church, relative to Catholics in the war. A score of
Grand Army posts attended the exercises, which were
also honored by the presence of the venerable Hugh
Lane, who has been pastor of the church during and
since the war. Father O'Connor's address deserves a
place in this volume. He said:

"The sacred edifice in which you assemble is an ap-
propriate spot for religion and patriotism to meet, for
St. Teresa's Church was for a time in the Civil War a
military hospital. The old railway station at Broad
and Prime streets was the rendezvous of the Union
troops from the North and East going to and from the
seat of war. The gleaming cross upon the church seem-
ed lifted in benediction over army after army marching
past. The poet Byron represents the forest of Ardennes
as weeping over the ^unreturning brave' of Waterloo,
but the sign of man's redemption may have lifted up
many a Catholic soldier's heart destined to be stilled in
the next battle. These walls, now bright with light and
color, have re-echoed the moans of the dying. The ven-
erable priest whose gracious presence lends dignity and
historic interest to this celebration prepared here many
a soldier for the last dread fight with death, the uni-
versal conqueror. 1 seem to behold, mingling with your

864 APPENDIX.

solid phalanx, the shadowy forms of the brave men who
were delivered from the storm and earthquake of battle
to breathe out their spirits here in the peace of the
sanctuary.

"Far be it from me to limit to the Catholic breast
that noble fire of the love of country, which with puri-
fying flame burned in the great heart of the nation when
war sounded the trumpet call to the children of the re-
public. It is occasion that shows the man. Our
Civil War was an occasion that showed our Church.
The legislative code of England was disgraced,
even in Victoria's reign by the calumny and the imbecil-
ity of penal laws against Catholics. To be a Catholic was
to be a traitor. In vain did we appeal to history, which
crowns with laurels the brows of unnumbered Catholic
patriots and heroes in every land of the universal Church.
The Thundering Legion fought for the Roman Emperor,
who decreed its martyrdom. The fleet of Protestant Eng-
land was led against the Armada of Catholic Spain by
a Catholic in the service of a Queen who sent his fel-
low-religionists to the stake on account of their faith.
The patriotism of the Catholic is motived by his religion.
It rises superior to the form in which civil government
may be embodied. Were the Pope, as temporal prince,
to invade our country we should be bound in conscience
to repel him, nor would our patriotism conflict one iota
with our religious faith.

''Our people, driven by misgovernment from their
native soil, found the portals of the great Republic flung
open to them in friendly welcome. They came to the
North and to the West. Thus the great centres of
industry in the Noithern States were crowded with
Catholics. Most of us had learned the bitter les-

APPENDIX. 365

sons which tyranny, bad government and religious
rancor have to impart under the scourge of England's
misrule of Ireland. As Bourke Cockran says, England's
treatment of the Irish people has made the world dis-
trust her. Ireland's love for America dates from before
the Revolution. The Irish Parliament passed resolu-
tians of sympathy with the American colonists. The
great tides of immigration from Ireland set in early and
continued until, at the outbreak of the Civil War, the
North was one-fourth Celtic in blood.

"The Catholic Church studiously refrained from any
oflScial pronouncement upon the causes of the conflict
which she deplored. The first regiment to respond to
President Lincoln's initial call for troops was the Sixty-
ninth New York. It was mainly Irish and Catholic.
Within forty-eight hours it was on its way to the front.
New York, pre-eminently a Catholic State, furnished one-
seventh of the military forces in the war for the Union.

"Obviously the Government had no reason for re-
cording the religious faith of its soldiers. Patriotism is
at once a natural and a civic virtue. That it may be
supernaturalized is evident from the words of St. Paul,
bidding us obey the higher powers for conscience sake.
The country had to face a condition, not a theory, and
whatever abstract reasoning has to say about State
rights, the will of the majority of the people, which is
the supreme law in a republic, decided for the mainte-
nance of the Federal Union. The best traditions of the
country. North and South, identified liberty with union.
God appears to have made the country one in geograph-
ical formation, in sameness of language, in homogeneity
of character.

"Two illustrious Catholic prelates, recognized as

366 APPENDIX.

leaders in Israel — the Moses and the Joshua of the
Church— Archbishop Kendrick, of Baltimore, and Arch-
bishop Hughes, of New York, declared in favor of the
Union. The sainted sage of the primatial city
flung the starry banner from the pinnacle of
his Cathedral. The Archbishop of New York was so
thoroughly identified with the cause of the Union that
he was invested by the President and his Secretary of
State with the authority of envoy extraordinary to the
courts of Europe.

"Unroll the military records of our country and you
will read column after column of names that are histori-
cally Catholic. Read the names on the tombstones of
soldiers in the great national cemeteries and you will
find in the Christian name alone confirmatory evidence
of the faith of the hero that sleeps beneath. The Catho-
lic knows that the Church imposes in baptism the name
of a saint. We may safely judge that he is a Catholic
who bears the name of Patrick and Michael, of Bernard
and Dominic. Not even the conservative spirit of the
Church of England could retain the old saintly nomen-
clature, and Puritanism chose the names of Old Testa-
ment worthies or names taken from natural history and
even heathen mythology.

*'If we reckon our soldiers by their religion, the
majority would be Catholic and we should find that we
had given our children in far greater number than any
one denomination. On the second day of Gettysburg a
Catholic priest, ascending an eminence, lifted his hand
to give absolution, and far as the eye could reach rank
upon rank of soldiers bent their heads like cornfields
swept by the summer breeze. Hancock, the "superb,"
impressed by the solemnity of the scene, bared his brow.

APPENDIX. 367

If the poet thought that a tear should fall for Stone-
wall Jackson because he spared Barbara Frietchie's
Union flag, will not a Catholic murmur a prayer for the
great general who gave heed to the priest calling upon
his people to be contrite for their sins in the hour which
for many would be the last?

* "The seven successive stormings of the heights of
Fredericksburg by the Irish Brigade has long passed into
history as surpassing Alma and the Sedan. Keenan's
cavalry charge at Chancellorsville saved the Union
army at the cost of 300 lives. The charge of the Light
Brigade at Balaklava was described by a French officer
as magnificent, but unmilitary — *C'est magnifique, mais
ce n'est pas la guerre.' But Keenan's charge was both
glorious and strategic. His troop rushed like a whirl-
wind upon 20,000 Confederates. His men were shot down
or sabered in the saddle. The steeds, maddened by
wounds and uncontrolled by their dead riders, plunged
into the thick of the Confederate ranks, and so discon-
certed and appalled them that the main army of the
Union had time to save itself from otherwise inevitable
destruction. Perhaps the most critical point of the war
was the success or the failure of Sheridan's devastation
of the Shenandoah Valley, which was the great base of
supplies for the South. Sheridan's historic ride, which
saved the day at Winchester, was the exploit of a Catho-
lic. The Republic subsequently conferred upon this son
of the Church one of the highest and most responsible
positions in her keeping, the generalship of her armies.

"One of the first, if not the first band of trained
nurses that offered their services to the Government was
the religious society of the Sisters of Charity. Their
title is their history. Their services in hospitals and on

368 APPENDIX.

the field did more than tomes of controversy to
make the Catholic Church better known, and consequent-
ly loved, by the American people. The convalescing sol-
dier by word and by letter spread the information
throughout the land that the ministrations of the Cath-
olic Sisterhood reminded him of a mother's love and a
sister's tenderness.

"The heroic devotion to duty of the Catholic chap-
lains, who made no distinction of religion when a sol-
dier was to be helped, endeared the Catholic religion to
many who met a Catholic priest for the first time in
camp or hospital. Our own noble-hearted Archbishop
rendered such service to the wounded soldiers in St.
Louis that the Government offered him a chaplaincy.
Care of the body was often supplemented with the
higher care of the soul. In that parting hour, when
mortality leans upon the breast of religion, the example
of devoted priest and religious gently led many a soul
into the hope and the consolation of divine faith.

"God grant that our country shall never again reel
under the shock of war! Yet out of the nettle of dan-
ger has come the flower of safety. Calumny, suspicion,
distrust of our patriotism were struck dumb. Never
again shall we be taunted with secret antipathy to free
institutions. The banner of the stars was rebaptized
in our blood. To the soldier of the war the Church owes
a debt of gratitude. He proved often by his death that
the religion which he professed, far from condemning his
patriotism, commended it as a virtue, and the faith that
sustained him in battle supported him when his heart
poured out the blood of supreme sacrifice upon the altar
of his country. And though no memorial marks his
resting place the Church in every mass pleads for the
repose of his soul.

APPENDIX. 369

"The soldier stands as the highest value which we
place upon our country and her institutions. He says to
all : 'My country is worth dying for.' In our thoughtless
way we take liberty, security of life and property, the
blessings of religion and safeguards of law and all the
beauty and amenity of our civilization as a matter of
course. Without the soldier all these goods would per-
ish. It is war that preserves and protects peace. The
soldier is the guardian of our homes. Honor him ; make
peaceful and happy his declining years. Thank God with
David for preparing our hands for the sword, before
whose blinding ray, in the hand of the hero, domestic
treason and foreign conspiracy slink into their dens.
Bless God for making us a nation of soldiers, as well
as of citizens. The war proved that the American sol-
dier, North and South, is without a peer in bravery, in
discipline, in self-control. Whilst our Republic gives
birth to such heroic sons we may laugh armed Europe to
scorn.

"Soldiers, there is another battle, another field, a
greater Captain than even the archangel who led the
embattled seraphim to war. You divine my meaning.
Be soldiers of the cross! Fight the good fight of faith.
Be sober, pure, charitable. The laurel that binds the
warrior's brow on earth soon fades. The flowers of
Decoration Day droop with the setting sun. But the
Divine Captain of our salvation will place upon your
brow, if you are faithful to the end, a crown that fadeth
not away, a wreath which you will receive amid the
shout of the heavenlv armies."

370 APPENDIX.

XV.

THE SANITARY COMMISSION.

The purpose of the writer of this history, as already
stated, has been to furnish for the first time a full and
detailed story of the labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods
in the Civil War, but in doing that he has not had the
slightest intention of detracting from the splendid ser-
vice rendered by other bodies and other persons. One
of the most notable organizations that contributed its
part in the humane work incident to the war was the
Sanitary Commission, It had its rise in a spontaneous
movement of the women in New England. It is said
that 7000 branch Aid Societies were connected with the
Commission at one time. Charles J. Stille, of Philadel-
phia, has written a history of the Commission, from
which most of the facts embodied in this sketch have
been obtained. Committees were sent to Washington,
the part of the Government, the Secretary of War, on
the 9th of June, 1861, issued an order appointing Henry
and after much negotiation, involving tedious delay on
W. Bellows, D. D., Professor A. D. Boche, LL. D., Pro-
fessor Jeffries Wyman, M. D., W. H. Van Buren, M. D.,
Wolcott Gibbs, M. D., R. C. Wood, surgeon U. S. A.; G.
W. Cullom, U. S. A.; Alexander E. Shiras, U. S. A., in
connection with such others as they might chose to asso-
ciate with them, "a commission of inquiry and advice in
respect of the sanitary interests of the United States
the Government and were to be provided with a room
forces." They were to serve without remuneration from
for their use in the city of Washington.

They were to direct their inquiries to the principles

APPENDIX. 371

and practices connected with, the inspection of recruits
and enlisted men, the sanitary condition of volunteers,
to the means of preserving and restoring the health and
of securing the general comfort and efficiency of the
troops, to the proper provision of cooks, nurses and hos-
pitals, and to other subjects of a like nature. The mode
by which they proposed to conduct these inquiries was
detailed in the letter of the New York delegation to the
Secretary of War on the 22d of May. The order ap-
pointing them directed that they should correspond
freely with the department and with the Medical Bureau
concerning these subjects, and on this footing and with-
in these limits their relations with the official authori-
ties were established. To enable them to carry out fully
the purposes of their appointment the Surgeon General
issued a circular letter announcing the creation of the
Commission, and directing all the officers in his depart-
ment to grant its agents every facility in the prosecu-
tion of their duties.

On the 12th of June the gentlemen named as Com-
missioners in the order of the Secretary of War (with
the exception of Professor Wyman, who had declined his
appointment) assembled at Washington. They pro-
ceeded to organize the Board by the selection of the
Eev. Dr. Bellows as president. Their first care was to
secure the services of certain gentlemen as colleagues,
who were supposed to possess special qualifications, but
whose names had not been included in the original war-
rant. Accordingly Dr. Elisha Harris and Dr. Cornelius
R. Agnew were unanimously chosen Commissioners at
the first meeting, and George T. Strong and Dr. J. S.
Newberry in like manner at the one next succeeding.
At different periods during the war Rt. Rev. Bishop
23

372 APPENDIX.

Clark, Hon. R. W. Burnet, Hon. Mark Skinner, Hon. Jos-
eph Holt, Horace Binney, Jr., Rev. J. H. Heywood, Prof.
Fairman Rogers, J. Huntingdon Wolcott, Charles J.
Stille, E. B. McCagg and F. Law Olmstead were elected
by the Board members of the Commission.

At the first meeting a 'Tlan of Organization," prepar-
ed by the president, was presented, discussed and finally
adopted. On the 13th the Commission, in a body, waited
on the President and Secretary of War, who gave their
formal sanction to this plan of organization by a£Sxing
to it their signatures. The experiences of the war sug-
gested but little alteration, even in the outline of this
report, while to a strict adherence to the general princi-
ples it embodied the Sanitary Commission owed much
of its wonderful success.

The plan reduced to a practical system and method
the principles laid down in the letters of the New York
gentlemen to the Government authorities and endeavor-
ed to apply them to the actual existing condition of
the army. Confining its proposed operations within the
limited sphere of "inquiry" and "advice," which had been
assigned to it by the Government, it declared what it
proposed to do and by what methods in each of these de-
partments of duty.

In order that its work might be carried on systemat-
ically and thoroughly two general committees were cre-
ated, one respecting "inquiry," the other "advice." The
object of the first was to determine by all the light
which could be derived from experience what must neces-
sarily be the wants and conditions of troops brought to-
gether as ours had been, to ascertain exactly how far
evils which had proved the scourge of other armies had
already invaded our own, and to decide concerning the

APPENDIX. 373

best measures to be adopted to remove all causes of re-
movable and preventable disease.

Each branch of ^'inquiry" under this head was re-
ferred to a distinct sub-committee. From the first was
expected such suggestions of preventable measures as
experience in former wars had proved to be absolutely
essential; to the second was entrusted the actual inspec-
tion, by its own members or their agents, of the camps
and hospitals, so that the real condition of the army, in
a sanitary point of view, concerning which there were
many conflicting rumors, could be definitely known. To
the third was referred all questions concerning the im-
provement of the health and efSciency of the army in re-
spect to diet, clothing, quarters and matters of a similar
nature.

In regard to the other branch of duty assigned to
the Commission under its appointment, that of "advice,"
the Board took the same wide and comprehensive views
as had guided them in regard to the needful subjects
of inquiry. Their purpose was to "get the opinions and
conclusions of the Commission approved by the Medical
Bureau, ordered by the War Department and carried out
by the officers and men."

The interest excited in thousands of homes through-
out the land, whose inmates were members of aid so-
cieties in favor of the Sanitary Commission, and who
looked upon it only as the almoner of their vast offerings
for the relief of the army, led to the popular error that
it was only a relief association upon a grand scale and
quite overshadowed in popular estimation its original
purpose, if not the peculiar and exclusive work before it.
The Commission itself, however, never departed from the
true scientific idea and conception of a preventive sys^

374 APPENDIX.

tern, and always regarded the relief system, vast as was
the place occupied by it in the war, as inferior in the
importance of its results to those due to well considered
and thoroughly executed preventive measures.

The CGmmission at the close of the war established
a pension bureau and war claim agency for the benefit of
disabled soldiers and their orphans and widows. The
entire money receipts of the Commission from 1861 to
1866 were |4,924,480.99, and the value of supplies fur-
nished is estimated at |15,000,000.

XVI.

"THE BLUE AND THE GRAY."

"By the flow of the inland river,

Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep on the ranks of the dead —
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the one, the Blue;
Under the other, the Gray.

These in the robings of glory.

Those in the gloom of defeat,
All with the battle-blood gory
In the dusk of eternity meet —
Under the sod and the dew.

Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the laurel, the Blue;
Under the willow, the Gray.

From the silence of sorrowful hours

The desolate mourners go.
Lovingly laden with flowers.

Alike for the friend and the foe —

APPENDIX. 375

Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the roses, the Blue;
Under the lilies, the Gray.
So with an equal splendor

The morning sun-rays fall,
With a touch impartially tender,
On the blossoms blooming for all —
Under the sod and the dew.
Waiting the judgment-day;
Broidered with gold, the Blue;
Mellowed with gold, the Gray.

So when the summer calleth.
On forest and field of grain,
With an equal murmur falleth
The cooling drip of the rain —
Under the sod and the dew,

Wa:iting the judgment-day;
Wet with the rain, the Blue;
Wet with the rain, the Gray.

Sadly, but not with upbraiding,
The generous deed was done:
In the storm of the years that are fading,
.No braver battle was won —
Under the sod and the dew.

Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the blossoms, the Blue;
Under the garlands, the Gray.

No more shall the war-cry sever.

Or the winding rivers be red:
They banish our anger forever
When they laurel the graves of our dead—
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears and love for the Gray."

376 APPENDIX.

XVII.

A MIRACLE OF THE WAR.

The following interesting little incident is taken
from Very Rev. W. C. Corby's book, entitled "Memoirs of
Chaplain Life:"

"On the 29th of November, 18o3," says Rev. Gon-
stantine L. Egan, O. P., chaplain of the Ninth Massa-
chusetts Volunteers, "we advanced to Mine Run and
formed a line of battle and bivouacked for the night.
The enemy were posted on the east ridge, about one
mile from the stream called Mile Run, on a centre ridge
nearly 100 feet above the surface of tho stream. Their
works could easily be seen by us posted on the west
ridge of the run. They were strongly fortified, their
works bristling with abatis, infantry parapets and epau-
lements for batteries. About 3 o'clock on the evening
of the 30th the order was given to charge the enemy's
line. Seeing the danger of death before us I asked the
colonel to form his regiment into a solid square so that
I could address the men. He did so. I then spoke to
them of their danger, and entreated them to prepare
for it by going on their knees and making a sincere act
of contrition for their sins, with the intention of going
to confession if their lives were spared.

"As the regiment fell on their knees, other Catholic
soldiers broke from their ranks and joined us, so that
in less than two minutes I had the largest congregation
I ever witnessed before, or even since. Having pro-
nounced the words of general absolution to be given in
such emergencies and danger, I spoke a few words of
encouragement to them.

APPENDIX. 377

* * * "After talking to the soldiers and finish-
ing my remarks, they arose from their knees, grasping
their muskets with a firm clinch, and went back to
their respective commands, awaiting the hour to expire
to make the assault."

Smith Johnson, taking this as his theme, has writ-
ten the following poem, entitled "A Miracle of War,"
and dedicated it to Father Corby:

Two armies stood in stern array
On Gettysburg's historic field—
This side the blue, on that the gray —
Each side resolved to win the day,
Or life to home and country yield.

"Take arms!" "Fall in!" rang o'er the line

Of Hancock's ever-valiant corps —
For to the left the cannons chime
With music terribly sublime.

With death's unceasing, solemn roar

With spirits ardent, undismayed.

With flags uplifted toward the sky.
There stands brave Meagher's old brigade
Those noble laurels ne'er will fade

Upon the page of history.

"All forward, men!" No, pause a while —

Dead silence follows like parade
At "order arms," for 'long the file
There moves a priest with holy smile —

The priest of Meagher's old brigade.

All eyes were toward him reverent turned,

For he was known and loved by all.
And every face with fervor burned,
And with a glance his mission learned —

A mission of high Heaven's call.

378 APPENDIX.

Then spake the priest: "My comrades, friends,

Ere long the battle fierce will surge,
Ere long the curse of war descends —
At such a moment God commends

You from the soul all sin to purge.
"Kneel, soldiers; lift your hearts to God,

In sweet contrition crush the pride
Of human minds; kneel on the sod
That soon will welter in your blood —

Look up to Christ, who for you died."

And every man, whate'er his creed.
Kneels down, and whispers pass along

The ranks, and murmuring voices plead

To be from sin's contagion freed

A,nd turned from path of mortal wrong.

Across the vale the gray lines view
The priest and those who, kneeling now,

For absolution humbly sue.

And joining hearts, the gray and blue,
Together make the holy vow.
*****

The smoke of battle lifts apace.

And o'er the field lie forms of men,
With glazen eyes and pallid face —
Dead — yet alive, for God's sweet grace

Has saved them from the death of sin.

SMITH JOHNSON.

XVIII.
LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG.

It has been aptly said that the battlefield of Gettys
burg has become the "Mecca of American Reeoncilia
tion." By act of Congress a National Park has been es-

APPENDIX. 379

tablished there, observatories erected and everything
possible done to make the battlefield convenient and at-
tractive to tourists.

The National Cemetery at Gettysburg was dedicated
November 19, 1863. The oration was by Edward Ever-
ett. On this occasion President Lincoln made the famous
address that will never die. It was as follows:

"Four-score and seven years ago our fathers brought
forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Lib-
erty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are
created equal. Now, we are engaged in a great civil war,
testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived
and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a
great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate
a portion of that field as a final resting place for those
who here gave their lives that the nation might
live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do
this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we
cannot consecrate — we cannot hallow this ground. The
brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have
consecrated it far above our poor power to add or de-
tract. The world will little note nor long remember what
we say here, but it never can forget what they did here.
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the
unfinished work which they who fought here have thus
far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here
dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that
from these honored dead we take increased devotion to
that cause for which they gave the last full measure of
devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead
shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God,
shall have anew birth of freedom; and that the govern-
ment of the people, by the people, and for the people,
shall not perish from the earth."

380 APPENDIX.

XIX.

THE FAITH AND THE FLAG.

While the work of the zealous Catholic Sisterhoods
on the battlefield and in the camp and hospital was for
humanity in its broadest sense the effect of their exam-
ple and the beauty of their daily lives also had the ef-
fect of clearing away the mists of prejudice that some-
times distorted and clouded the views of honorable, well-
meaning and worthy non-Catholics. The writer has en-
deavored to present the history of the labors of the Sis-
ters in a straightforward and dispassionate manner.

He has dealt exclusively in facts and has, as far as
possible, avoided comment. It has especially been his
aim to keep entirely clear of sectional disputes or relig-
ious controversies. Hence it will be found that the story
of the work of the Sisters has reference, in the main, to
their devotion to suffering humanity. It was inevitable,
however, that men living in the atmosphere of sanctity
created by these good women should feel the consoling
benefit of their silent influence. The result was that
non-Catholics began to take a broader and more kindly
view of their Catholic comrades and fellow-citizens, and
long- before the war closed they realized that the faith
and the flag were entirely compatible.

A few years ago William J. Onahan, of Chicago, in
an address, incidentally touched upon tliis very point.
Speaking of those who were distrustful of the Church
and its teachings he said: "If they could realize the har-
mony and benevolent influence of her teaching, the num-
ber of souls redeemed through her efforts and graces
from despair and sin, the wounded hearts solaced by her

APPENDIX. 381

balm — the extent of human misery she has removed or
mitigated? Let them but think how that Church has
consecrated the marriage tie, sanctified the home, shield-
ed the unfortunate, lifted up the lowly and sorrow-
stricken, staying the arm of the oppressor, pleading for
the rights of the poor against the power of the tyrant and
the greed of capital. Witness the asylums and the
refuges the Catholic Church has established all over the
world for every condition of infirmity and suffering — for
the orphans, the foundlings, the sick, the aged, the way-
ward and the fallen.

"See the admirable sisterhoods — to which no
parallel can be found on earth — the Sisters of
Charity and Mercy, the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ,
the Sisters of St. Joseph, the nuns of the Good Shep-
herd, the Little Sisters of the Poor and countless others,
varying in the admirable diversity of their charitable la-
bors. Watch these sisters at their appointed duties in
the hospitals and asylums, in the hovels of the poor, by
the bedside of the dying — aye, in pesthouses and small-
pox hospitals, as well as on the battlefield, ministering to
the dying soldier — all bent on doing God's work for
God's sake. Assuredly these facts — these daily exam-
ples here before our eyes, within reach of our feet in
daily walk — assuredly these ought to serve toward dispel-
ling the false glare of prejudice.

"As a preliminary let me say I adopt without reserve
or qualification the language of the Baltimore Catholic
Congress: 'We rejoice at the marvellous development of
our country, and regard with just pride the part taken
by Catholics in such development.' In the words of the
pastoral issued by the Archbishops of the United States,
assembled in the third Plenary Conncil of Baltimore,

382 APPENDIX.

'we claim to be acquainted both with the laws, institu-
tions and spirit of our country, and we emphatically de-
clare that there is no antagonism between them.

"We repudiate with equal earnestness the assertion
that we need to lay aside any of our devotedness to our
Church to be true Americans, and the insinuations that
we need abate any of our love for our country's principles
to be faithful Catholics. We believe that our country's
heroes were the instruments of the God of Nations in
establishing this home of freedom ; to both the Almighty
and to His instruments in the work we look with grate-
ful reverence, and to maintain the inheritance of free-
dom which they have left us, should it ever — which God
forbid — be imperiled, our Catholic citizens will be bound
to stand forward as one man, ready to pledge anew
their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.'

"Before turning to the question of the 'rights and
duties' let me first define what I understand by the term
'Catholic Citizen.' An American citizen, whether by
birth or adoption, who, having had the grace of Christian
baptism, believes and practices the teachings of the
Catholic Church — in other words a practical Catholic.
Now we come to the question of 'rights and duties.'
What are our rights as citizens? No more, no less, pre-
cisely, than those possessed by any other American citi-
zen. What are the rights we in common have with oth-
ers? In general terms we have the 'right' of enjoying
and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing
and protecting property and reputation and of pursuing
our own happiness.

"We hold, in the language of the Consti-
tution of Illinois, that all men have a natural and
indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to

APPENDIX. 383

the dictates of their own consciences, that no man can of
right be compelled to attend, erect or support any place
of worship, or to maintain any ministry against his con-
sent, that no human authority can in any case whatever
control or interfere with the rights of conscience. We
have a right to be protected in our persons and property;
we cannot be deprived of either without due process of
law; the right of free elections, to trial by jury, to equal-
ity before the law — but I need not enter into detail of
the 'Bill of Rights' which specifies the catalogue of a
freeman's inheritance. The highest and most precious
right, however, is that of religious freedom, liberty to
worship God without let or hindrance and free from re-
ligious disabilities of any kind, and next to their own
rights as free men, to exercise it as shall best promote
the welfare of the city. State and nation.

"Catholics, then, are entitled to absolute equality be-
fore the law, and this is according to the letter and spirit
of the Constitution of the United States, as well as of
the several States now, I believe, without exception.
There is nevertheless an unwritten law, which operates
as a practical discrimination against Catholics in public
life as effectually as though it were so expressed in the
Constitution. It is the law of public opinion deriving its
force and effect from popular prejudice. It is a well-
known fact that neither of the great political parties
would dare to nominate a Catholic for the Presidency,
and the same is true as to the office of Governor in the
different States. Surely it would not be claimed that
no American Catholic could be found qualified by posi-
tion and ability for any of these high offices.

"Eternal vigilance, it has been said, is the
price of liberty. Probably if Catholics were alert

384 APPENDIX.

in asserting their rights — in a just and lawful,
as well as in a reasonable manner — there would
be less disposition shown to infringe upon
those rights, and to ignore their claim to representation.
Again, the government, whether National or State, has
no just claim or authority to deny the rights of eon-
science to Catholics, whether they be employed in the
service of the nation, in the army or naval forces, in penal
or reformatory institutions, in asylums, or elsewhere.
The State may lawfully and justly deprive a man of his
liberty and place him behind prison bars; but it has no
right to compel him while there to attend a form of re-
ligious worship in which he does not believe; it should
not deny or hamper the attendance and ministrations of
priest or elder whose services are sought by the prisoner
or State's own ward. Justice and sound policy alike
demonstrate the wisdom of invoking the services of the
Catholic Missionary for Catholics, whether in jail or asy-
lum, or on the frontier.

"General Grant testified that Father De Smet's
presence among the Indians was of greater value
to the Government than a regiment of cav-
alry, and recent events on our Northern borders inten-
sify the force of this conclusion. The Catholic mission-
ary is always a peacemaker. Catholics ask nothing in the
way of 'privileges.' We have no claim to privileges. We
only ask what we are willing to concede to others —
equality and fair play. If others are content to minimize
religious principles or to abdicate them entirely we must
be excused if we insist on holding fast to ours. We are
on firm ground in that respect; we do not care to follow
others into the "slough of despond." We are persuaded
that every vexed question occupying and disturbing the

APPENDIX. 385

public attention, dividing and distracting the people can
be amicably adjusted, provided the wise men of the na-
tion and the States will take these questions out of the
hands of fanatics and bigots, who are only too eager and
anxious to inaugurate a reign of discord and religious
strife.

"Catholics, be assured, will have no part in this war-
fare, beyond protecting and defending their rights —
God-given and Constitutional rights. They would be un-
worthy of American citizenship were they to be content
with less.

"We now come to the question of the 'Duties of
Catholics as Citizens.' Let it be understood that in un-
dertaking to answer this, as well as the previous ques-
tion under consideration, I speak for myself only as a
Catholic layman. I express my own thoughts and con-
victions unreservedly. What are the 'duties' referred
to? First, and primarily, I should say to be American,
in all that the term broadly implies. How do I define
the term American? It stands in my mind for liberty,
order, education and opportunities. It is the duty of the
Catholic citizen to love liberty for its own sake, order for
the general good and to illustrate the highest type and
model of civic virtue. It is a duty to foster and nourish
the purity of home life and the domestic virtues, eagerly
to promote education and to make every necessary sacri-
fice for it, and to see to it that Catholic children shall
have the benefit of a sound Christian education. Catholics
should avail themselves of the material opportunities
and advantages offered in this wonderful age and coun-
try, and strive to be in the front ranks in the march of
progress.

"The field is wide and inviting, the race is open

386 APPENDIX.

to all. The privilege of American citizenship should be
regarded as precious and priceless. Because so easily
acquired, perhaps, it is not sufficiently estimated at its
true value and worth. Think what American citizenship
confers; see what it assures! Equal part and member-
ship in this mighty empire — the equal advantage in its
unsurpassed opportunities — the unqualified privileges of
its unequaled freedom. No standing armies here to be
moved at a monarch's caprice, weighing down and op-
pressing the nation's energies, draining it of its life blood,
sapping its vitality, and, worst evil of all, menacing the
peace of the world. No armed 'constabulary' to terror-
ize over a peasant population and enforce the heartless
edict of brutal landlords. No hereditary or favored
classes. No obstacle to the unfettered enjoyment of
those rights which we possess from God in the natural
law, and that are guaranteed to us in the Constitution
and laws of the land — the right to life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.

"What a future opens before us, what possibilities
for ourselves and for our children! Justly are the xVmer-
ican people jealous of this inheritance. It must be
guarded with vigilant care, lest unworthy hands and
evil guidance should put it in peril. American liberty and
the opportunities of American life are too precious to
the human family to permit the one and the other to be
.wrecked or endangered. I rejoice in every indication of
patriotic public spirit, whether shown in devotion and
respect for the country's flag or in reverence and admir-
ation for the nation's heroes. We need all these demon-
strations to keep alive in this material age the ardor
and purity of true patriotism.

APPENDIX. 387

"True American patriotism is the inheritance
and monopoly of no one class or condition. Its
title is not derived from accident of birth, or color,
is not to be determined by locality. Montgom-
ery, Pulaski, Steuben, De Kalb, Rochambeau, the Moy-
lans and Sullivans, fought for American liberty in the
Revolutionary days with an ardor and a fidelity at least
equal to that displayed by those "native and to the man-
ner born." Jackson was none the less a typical Ameri-
can because of the accident of his father's foreign birth,
or, as is sometimes intimated, of his own. And who
shall question the patriotic devotion of General Shields,
honorably identified with the early history of your own
State; of Meagher, of Mulligan, of Sheridan, of Meade
and countless others I might name.

"Apprehension is sometimes expressed at the growth
of foreign influence and the display of foreign customs,
but this fear is after all puerile. Under our system of
government the foreigner who comes to stay is soon as-
similated, and while there may be here and there in-
stances and examples, the outgrowth of foreign habits
and customs, not welcome to American notions, yet these
can be only passing and temporary accidents. The
foreigner, I insist, is all right, provided he is loyal to
American laws and government. We have no use for
any other."

24

388 APPENDIX.

XX.

A ROMANCE OF THE WAR.

This record of tlioir life and conduct coiild not be
brought to a more appropriate close than by the recital
of a touching romance of the war, growing directly out
of the work of the Sisters during that crucial period.
The episode upon which the story hinges gains added
interest from the fact that it constituted one of the act-
ual occurrences of the closing day of the war.

A few years before the first shot was fired upon
Sumter a household that was a perfect picture of do-
mestic felicity existed in one of the large cities of Ken-
tucky. It consisted of four persons — father, mother,
son and daughter. The parents were in comfortable cir-
cumstances, and in their life and conduct were all that
the heads of a Christian family should be. The son and
daughter* vied with one another in performing those little
acts of devotion and duty that go so far toward making
up the sum total of harmony and happiness that should
ever I'eign about the family hearthstone.

At the time our narrative begins the son was ap-
proaching his twentieth year. He was a tall, handsome
manly fellow, and by a course of preparatory work was
now about to begin the final years of study at the West
Point Military Academy. The daughter, a girl of un-
usual intelligence and beauty, was two years the junior
of her brother. Hers was a devout nature, and choice
and study led her to adopt the habit of a Sister of
Charity as the means for carrying out a desire to be both
useful and good during her transitory stay upon this
earth.

APPENDIX. 389

Just at this period death, by one of these inexplic-
able strokes which can never be made quite clear to the
human intellect, carried off both parents. The devoted
children of such a loving father and mother were natur-
ally prostrated at such an affliction. But they rallied
nobly, and grief only served to bring out the better qual-
ities of their nature. After all that v^as mortal of their
dearest ones had been consigned to the earth they calm-
ly sat down and rationally discussed their future plans.

The result was just what might have been expected.
Both resolved to carry out their original design. The
parting was a sad one — the man going to complete his
knowledge of a soldier's life — the woman to her convent
home to receive the final vows and to learn the last
lessons concerning the philosophy of charity in its sweet-
est and grandest sense.

Many years passed and the brother and sister, in their
widely separated and. totally different spheres of life,
were as dead to one another as if they had never lived
under the same roof. The Civil War with all of its hor-
rors began. What had been the theoretical discussions
of cabinets and the political orations of legislators now
developed into the fierce and awful reality of war. It
was no longer a question of what might or could have
been, the actual grim-visaged monster with all of the
hideous ills that follow was engaged in the work of
death and destruction.

Men volunteered their services. After them came the
nurses. One of these was Sister S — , from one of the
Northern houses of the Sisters of Charity. In order to
expedite her mission of mercy it was necessary that she
should enter the service of the Federal Government.
The record of her daily life from that time forth was the

390 APPENDIX.

record of every member of the Catholic Sisterhood that
served during the war. Days of uninterrupted work;
nights of ceaseless watching.

Soon after the siege of Vicksburg word was tele-
graphed to Baltimore that a corps of Sisters of Charity
was needed at once to care for the scores of sick and
wounded then suffering in Louisiana. Only five Sisters
were available. They were sent at once, with Sister S —
in command. They found travel seriously impeded
from the start. This fact caused the good Samaritans
much anguish of mind, for the summons they received
said that many of the men would die unless they had
the imediate attendance of experienced nurses. When
the Sisters reached Chattanooga they found that a spe-
cial train had been provided for the purpose of rushing
them with all posible speed to the City of New Orleans.
On this train there were also a number of Union oflOicers
carrying important r.ealed orders from the authorities at
Washington to the men in charge of the Union forces in
what was known as the ^'Department of the Gulf." Sis-
ters and officers were filled with conflicting emotions, but
all had one object in common — the desire to reach New
Orleans at the earliest possible moment. With the Sis-
ters it was a race for life — for lives that might be saved
by their exertions. With the men it was a race for honor
— for promotion, perhaps for official commendation from
the General of the Army or the President of the United
States.

Finally the train steamed into the Crescent City,
and the officers went to seek their commanders and the
sisters their patients, who were in a small town on the
Mississippi River. Sister S — divided her small force of
nurses with such rare good judgment and executive

APPENDIX. 391

ability that in twenty-four hours all of the sick and
wounded men were resting comfortably. Suddenly came
the order to depart and the Union troops all left the town,
taking with them such of the convalescent patients as
were able to bear the strain of travel. Twelve hours
later a portion of the Confederate army entered the
town, bringing several hundred of their sick and wound-
ed. Sister S — , thinking that the call to duty in this in-
stance was no less imperative than it had been in the
case of the Union men the day before, started for the hos-
pital, where the wounded Confederates had been carried.

One of the Union surgeons who had remained be-
hind with his wounded men, placed a detaining hand
upon her arm.

"Where are you going?" he said.

"To look after these men," she replied.

"That is impossible," he said. "You are in the ser-
vice of the United States Government, and you are
are not permitted to serve under the enemy. We have
no objection to your nursing the wounded Confederates,
but it must be under the auspices of our generals. The
Union forces will probably regain possession of this
town before nightfall, and then you can wait upon both
sides alike."

"But I insist," and the eyes of the usually mild-man-
nered Sister sparkled as she stamped her foot in an em-
phatic manner. "I know nothing of technical military
rules, but I insist upon my right to nurse these poor
men."

"I regret very much being placed in such a position,"
said the surgeon gently," but I am here representing the
Government."

"And I," responded the Sister," am here representing
something greater than the Government."

392 APPENDIX.

"What is that?" he asked in an incredulous tone.

"Humanity!" was the quiet reply.

The officer — a brave man obeying orders — did not
utter another word, but bowing his head opened the door
and admitted the Sister and her companions into the
presence of the sick. '

Scarcely a minute had elapsed when the surgeon
heard the heartrending shriek of a woman come from the
interior of the building. Rushing in he beheld the Sister
kneeling beside a cot at the far end of the room. The
tears were pouring down her cheeks, but it was evident
that they were tears of joy. The bearded man upon the
cot was seriously wounded, but there was a placid ex-
pression upon his countenance as he kissed the hands of
the Sister.

Need this dramatic scene be explained to the reader.
It was the son and daughter mentioned in the beginning
of this sketch — reunited after years of separation. The
one enlisted in the Confederate army, the other a nurse
serving under the Union Government. The sight drew
tears from rough soldiers who seldom betrayed emotion
of any character.

The Sister lavished every attention upon her wound-
ed brother. What would have been a solemn duty under
any conditions now became a work of love and affec-
tion. But it was all in vain. He had been marked as a
a victim by the grim destroyer. In a few days he
breathed his last, edified and consoled by the presence of
his Sister and all of the offices of religion.

Funerals from the hospital always occurred at
night, and this was no exception. But the obsequies of
the young Confederate officer were out of the ordinary.
Every one about the hospital, and, indeed, in the town,

APPENDIX. 393

evinced a desire to do something as a mark of respect to
Sister S — . Tlie moon was shining brightly on the night
of the interment, and it looked down upon a ghostly pro-
cession that followed the body to its last resting place.
Six convalescent soldiers — three Union men and three
Confedrates, acted as pall-bearers. The services of the
church were conducted by the chaplain. Sister S — was
the chief mourner. The other sisters followed with
lighted tapers. No one took more interest in the pro-
ceedings or did more for the convenience of those con-
cerned than the surgeon with whom the Sister had the
altercation a few days before. After the war the Sister
devoted herself to those works of charity and mercy,
which to a person with the desire and will are within
reach in times of peace as well as in times of war.

PUBLISHER'S NOTICE.

No book on the war, that has been published in recent years, has
met with a more generous reception than has been accorded by the
reading public to the " Angels of the Battlefield." Congratulations
and expressions of good-will have come from all classes of persons.
Following will be found brief comments from letters and from notices
of the secular and religious press. These references are in most cases
mere excerpts from lengthy reviews of the book. Of course it has
been impracticable to publish quotations from all of the newspapers, but

those that are given are of a representative character.

(395)

396 PUBLISHER'S NOTICE.

Arcbbisbop Ryan's Eloquent and Earnest Letter of
Recommendation.

I beg to thank you for the copy of your book, "Angels of the Battle-
field," which you were kind enough to send to me. I have read it with
great satisfaction and beg to congratulate you on your success in pre-
senting the touching and edifying scenes in which Charity sent her
Angels into both camps alike, to heal the sick and console the dying," to
chasten triumph and comfort defeat.

The mission of these "Angels of the Battlefield" was to remove the
strong prejudices that impeded the progress of the Church. It was like
the mission of Saints Peter and John to the poor lame man at the porch
that was called beautiful of Solomon's temple. The nation, wounded and
crippled by the war, was sent in through the beautiful gate of Catholic
charity to view the true temple of God. And of those who never be-
longed to the fold of the Catholic Church how many can cry out with
honest Captain Jack Crawford, quoted by you. "My friends, I am not
a Catholic, but I stand ready at any and all times to defend these noble wo-
men, even with my life, for I owe that life to them."

I earnestly recommend jour excellent book to all with whom my
opinion may have any influence —Most Rev. P. J. Ryan, D. D., LL. D.,
Archbishop of Philadelphia.

A Very Flattering Tribute from the Governor of
Pennsylvania.

I am more than pleased with the work. It is a valuable addition to
our war literature. I cannot but recommend your subject matter and
approve of your literary style. I congratulate you heartily on the grace-
ful and deserved tribute to the women who served so faithfully and
loyally the cause of humanity during the dark days of our nation's strug-
gle.—Gen. Daniel H. Hastings, Governor of Pennsylvania.

Higrb Praise from tbe Commander-in-Cblef of tbe Grand
Army of the Republic.

General J. P. S. Gobin, Commander-in Clief of the Grand Army of the
Republic, writes:—

"I have at length had an opportunity to carefully read your volume,
"Angels of the Battlefield," and wish to thank you for the pleasure you
have given me. Your book is a valuable addition to the literature of
the War. You have depicted those scenes with rare fidelity and without
exaggeration, which so frequently justified the title you have selected.—
Very truly yours, J. P. S. Gobin, Commander-in-Chief.

Particularly Happy in Avoiding Sectional, Political or Relis-
lous Controversies.

There is a praiseworthy attempt to give plain facts without comment
or unnecessary coloring. The author has been particularly happy in avoid-
ing sectional, political or religious controversies. Although many vol-
umes have been written concerning the work of women in the war, this
book is said to be the first connected and consecutive history of the self-
sacrificing labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods during that great conflict.—
The Washington (D. C.) Post.

PUBLISHER'S NOTICE. 397

Comment from the Official Organ of the Historical Society
of Q.nebec, Canada.

As might be expected, the work is full of interest, and is an eloquent
tribute to the faith that produces such heroines. There was difBoulty in
collecting the data for the genuine humility so characteristic of the Sisters
would move them to hide, rather than publish, the deeds, in themselves
so heroic, but in their eyes only what their duty, enlightened by faith
and enkindled by charity, demanded of them. In order to make the narra-
tive as consecutive as the scattered notes permitted, a sketchy account
of the war is introduced. — Le Courrier Du Livre, Quebec, Canada, official
organ of the Quebec Historical Society.

Cordial Words from Riglit Rev. Edmond F. Prendergast, D. D.,
Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia.

"I have read your beautiful work, "Angels of the Battlefield," from
beginning to end, with the greatest pleasure. It is certainly a most de-
lightful book, and I trust and hope that it will have readers everywhere."
—Right Rev. Edmond F. Prendergast, D. D., Auxiliary Bishop of Phila-
delphia.

General Miles, the Head of the Army, and the "Angels of the
Battlefield."

"Recently I had occasion to call on General Miles, the ranking of-
ficer of the army, the Miles who gained such distinction as one of Han-
cock's fighting commanders. When I entered his office, at the War Depart-
ment, I found him reading a book in which he appeared to be deeply
interested. Having the curiosity which comes to newspaper men, both
by nature and from training, I could not restrain myself from asking the
General the name of the book. It proved to be "Angels of the Battlefield:
A History of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the War of the Rebellion," a
work by a near friend and professional colleague of mine, Mr. George
Barton. — "S. M." in Philadelphia Evening Star.

The Tvork possesses "the Light and Interest "Which Belongs
to Incidents from Life."

The author has been able to gather from personal interviews with
Sisters many narratives which give to his pages the light and interest
which belong to incidents from life. He possesses the vivid sympathy
with action and suffering, without which a history of this kind would be
no better than dry bones. The author is rightly touched by the heroism
that surrounded those cots, where enemies lay side by side in an agony,
which, for many, could only obtain surcease in the grave. Some inci-
dental descriptions of battles are animated, and we are sure our readers
will find themselves moved for the better by this narrative of heroio
charity on the part of the nuns, and soldierly heroism on that of the men
to whom they ministered.— The Catholio World Magazine, New York.

398 PUBLISHER'S NOTICE.

Record of Blameless lilves, "Strung Like Goldeii Beads on a
Silver Thread."

It is a sweet, and clean, and healthy book. The sketches are de-
lightful reading. The writer has poetic touch and a felicity of phrase.
Nothing is overdrawn. Mr. Barton writes without rhetoric, but with
wholesome sentiment, and rescues from the convents the story of the
part these Sisters took in the great drama of our Civil war. It has
been a labor of love, and the author has strung like golden beads on a
silver thread the record of the blameless lives of the Sisters and their
absolute devotion to duty. Literature and libraries are enriched by this
contribution to impartial history.— The Monongahela (Pa.) Daily Repub-
lican.

''Magrnificent Contribution to the Best Literature
of Our Day."

It was a beautiful thought to collect in one splendidly illustrated
volume the touching records of so many noble lives; to snatch from obliv-
ion, as it were, the names of those heroic Sisters whose deeds of mercy and
valor in our hospitals and on our battlefields have hitherto been known, in
some instances, to God and themselves alone. Your book is a unique and
magnificent contribution to the best literature of our day, and I wish
it the success it so richly deserves.— Eleanor C. Donnelly, of Philadel-
phia.

"Supplies a Chapter Ksseutial to the History
of the War."

It supplies a chapter essential to the history of our Civil War. The
Christian religion claims that its teachings have mitigated the horrors
of war; and the conduct of the Catholic Sisterhoods, North and South,
furnished a striking evidence of the truth of such claims, in the particular
instance of our domestic conflict.

It is such books as yours that accomplish the end which the Sovereign
Pontiff. Leo XIII, most ardently desires, in the relations of Church and
State — the perfect accord of the love of our faith with the love of coun-
try.—Rev. Joseph V. O'Connor, of the diocese of Philadelphia.

"The Whole Book Clean and Written in an Easy,
Practical Style."

I offer you my sincere congratulations for having given us a volume
that illustrates heroic charity, in a manner calculated to command the ad-
miration of all men. Men may differ about politics, economics, creed, the
relative merits of men of letters and affairs; they will be one, however, in
recognizing the "Angels of the Battlefield" as the grandest types of all
the Christian virtues— charity— the bond of the true brotherhood of man.

The whole book is so clean, and wi-itten in such an easy, practical
style that it is more fascinating than a classical novel— even than a well-
written sensational one. After reading it through one feels like reading
it to some friend, and calling his attention to its many beautiful pas-
sages and the thrilling episodes in M^hich it abounds. It is a volume that
all can read with ease and interest— not alone in clubs and homes, but
in the refectories and community-rooms of our convents. From cover to
cover it is, in every chapter, calculated to edify all and inspire thoughts
and aspirations that are good, sweet and elevating.— Rev. William
Walsh, of the diocese of Nashville. Tenn.

PUBLISHER'S NOTICE. 399

<'E}iubodles tbe Work of Several Years of Research and Cor-
respondence."

This large volume embodies the work of several years of research
and correspondence on the part of the author. The war Itself is the
merest thread upon which are strung these tales of womanly heroism
which have naught to do with political or sectional feeling. The brave
Sisters find in this volume their appreciative historian. The Catholio
Columbian "veterans should see that it finds a place in post libraries."

The author has been at pains to collect all the data he could find-
anecdotes, thrilling incidents and statistics concerning the good nuns. His
book Is very entertaining. We can well believe that it will delight many
an old soldier who knew the tender ministrations of the angels of the
battlefield. Veterans should see that it finds a place in the post li-
braries, where such useful adjuncts are found.— Providence (R. I.) Vis-
itor.

"Will Take Its Place Witk Standard Histories of the
War."

This work ia one of much more than usual interest. It will take its
plaoe with the standard books concerning the history of the great Civil
War.— Camden (N. J.) Review.

"Vivid Pictures of Sisters W^ho Have Gone to Their
Re^vard."

This interesting history gives especially vivid pictures of three Sisters
who became conspicuous by reason of their superior attainments— Sisters
Anthony, Sister Gonzago and Sister Angela— all now gone to their reward.
— Taggarts' Times, Fhlla.

The Data is "Presented in a Very Attractive
and rieasing' Form."

This interesting book la handsomely bound and beautifully and pro-
fusely illustrated. It fills a gap in the history of the Rebellion. Mr.
Barton, who is a trained and able writer, has expended considerable time
in gathering the data about these noble women and he presents it in a
very attractive and pleasing form. The volume abounds with the personal
experience of the Sisters. The narrative is replete with thrilling and
pathetic incidents.— Pittsburg Dispatch,

The Writer "Presents a Book With Not :* Dnll
Page in it."

The author of the book has succeeded in investing his work with an
absorbing interest. While he fully accomplishes his motive in setting
forth the numerous heroic acts and deeds of mercy of members of the
Sisterhoods, he has so interwoven them with stirring incidents of the
strife as to create a history that has an enduring value apart from Its
personal interest. He has made his selections with a judgment of what
is most interesting and only acquired by a long experience in newspaper
work. He has, therefore, succeeded in making a book of over three
hundred pages with not a dull page in it. It is safe to say that no one
who reads the introductory chapter will willingly lay the book aside un-
til the whole work has been absorbed.— Major John W. Finney, in the
Pottsville Miners' Journal.

400 PUBLISHER'S NOTICE.

"The Story of the Sisters Well Told In This
Charming Bool£."

Many books have been written about the faithful worlc of women dur-
ing the war, in hospitals and on the battlefields, but these books, at least
those we have seen of them, ara strangely silent about the work of the
Catholic Sisterhoods in the same good cause. Some years ago we called
the attention of Mr. George Barton, of Philadelphia, to this fact and sug-
gested that a work of the Sisters in field and post hospitals during the
war would afford ample material for a most interesting and edifj-ing
book. He saw the matter in the same light we did and set himself to the
task. The result is this admirable work. The labors of all the Sisters are
given in this charming book in detail and in chronological order.— Rev. L.
A. Lambert, LL. D., in New York Freeman's Journal.

"Illustrations in Perfect Taste from the Beginnins
to the End."

Typographically the work is a masterpiece. The seventeen half-tone
Illustrations are beautifully executed; besides they are in perfect taste
from the frontispiece, Thomas' "Innocent Victim," to the closing scene,
"Lincoln at Gettysburg." The volume Is bound in red, with green trim-
mings, and the lettering is tastefully brought out in gilt, giving an
artistic effect of coloring, pleasing to the eye and in keeping with the
interior exquisiteness of finish. As a holiday book the publishers could
not have improved on the "Angels of the Battlefield."— The Connecticut
Catholic.

"It Should Appeal Especially to Veterans of
the War."

All sorts of books have been written about the late war, enough to
fill a good-sized library and, I think, I have read them all, but Mr. Barton's
book is a new thing in that class of literature. The author has ventured
on untrodden paths, with the result that he has given to the public a vast
amount of interesting history that has not hitherto seen the light of day.
"Angels of the Battlefield" should meet with a generous welcome from all
classes and conditions of people, irrespective of locality or religious be-
lief; it should appeal especially to the veterans of the war, many of
whom now living have experienced the practical charity and kindness
of the gentle members of the various Sisterhoods. The general appear-
ance of the book is very attractive and makes it suitable for presentation
purposes. — Congressman James Rankin Young (S. M., in the Philadelphia
Evening Star).

Fills "A Gap in the Chronicle of the Gruesome Years of the

War."

This work will fill, we believe, a gap In the chronicle of those grue-
some years. The unselfish deeds of other women have been often re-
lated, but the incessant and universal help of the Catholic religious
of the battlefields has never yet been placed in an orderly fashion before
the world,— Cathollo Standard and Times, Philadelphia.

PUBLISHER'S NOTICE. 401

The EfioTt "Wa« Well Worth Making, and tlie Task Is Done
Admirably."

In the "Angels of the Battlefield" is given a history of the labors of
the Cathollo Sisterhoods in the Civil War. Among all the agencies for
relief of suffering in that dreadful conflict, none was more beautiful and
more self-sacrificing than the work of these untiring Sisters. The effort
was well worth making, and Mr. Barton has done his task admirably.—
Philadelphia Evening Telegraph.

The Reader "Brouglit Face to Face W^ith the Sterner Realities

of W^ar."

The anther In this work leads us into an entirely new field of liter-
ature. He treats of a subject never before taken up in such pretentious
shape. So vivid are his pictures of the great conflict and of the noble
and humane work done by these self-sacrificing "angels" that the reader
Gomes face to face with the sterner realities of the war. The book is an
altogether readable one, and is a worthy adjunct to the already published
literature of the Civil War.— Burlington (N. J.) Democrat.

All W^ill "W^elcome This Delightful Volume W^ith Its Sprig^ht-
ly Narrative."

Everyone who took part in the late war, on either side, will welcome
this delightful volume of reminiscence of one of the most beautiful and
touching aspects of that history so full of misfortune and horrors. The
special friends and admirers of the Sisterhoods, whose members partici-
pated, will all seek to possess it, and also many Catholic apologists and
students of American history. The narrative is sprightly and abounds in
anecdotes. This publication well deserves the large sale it is sure to
have.— The (St. Louis) Church Progress.

The "Clear, Crisp IVevrspaper Einglish" One of Its Good
Points."

The fact that a writer has actually found a field or phase of our
national history unrecorded, or as newspaper men would say, uncovered,
by a book is sufficient to entitle this volume to mention by the news-
papers. The work has been well done, not only as to the amount and
systematic presentation of evidence, the authenticity of which is con-
firmed by numerous authorities of unquestionable standing, both In and
out of the Catholic Church, but also in the manner of treatment, the
language being the clear, crisp newspaper English, without which no
book need be expected to meet with any great degree of popular suc-
cess.—The Camden (N. J.) Post.

lUnstratingr "The Extent and the Superb Courage" of the

Sisters.-

To the story of the part which our American womanhood played in
the war for the Union Mr. Barton has contributed some new data In
the field of our war literature which hitherto has been untouched. Moved
by a spirit of gentle enthusiasm, Mr. Barton has painstakingly told in a book
of several hundred pages how the Sistershoods of the Roman Catholic

402 PUBLISHEK'S NOTICE.

Church toiled in the lowliest and most perilous offices of the nurse, as
they followed the armies into the very storm of shot and shell. The book
is full of anecdotes of historic value in illustrating the extent and superb
courage of the labors of these useful women. Let us hope that when
the true history of the Civil War shall be written, as it has yet to be,
there will be a place in it for them as among the noblest of their sex.—
"Penn," in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.

''A Compreliensive Book Tbat Makes History, and
Valuable History."

Mr. Barton has written a book that makes history, and valuable his-
tory. It is not one of the kind that, according to the proverb, his
enemies (if he has any) need rejoice over, but a tribute to the noble
band to which every kindly heart, irrespective of religious faith, will
respond. The author gives us a compact presentation of the history of
these noble women in the matricidal strike of the 60's, a subject whioh
has been hitherto sadly neglected. The humility of the Sisters made the
collection of data difflcult, but stories included in the work have been
gathered after much painstaking effort.— Louis N. Megargee in the Phila-
delphia Times.

"Tlie Twenty-Seven Chapters of tlie Volume CrOTvded
WitU Stories."

The twenty-seven chapters of the volume are crowded with incidents
and stories, some pathetic, some humorous, and others still historical.
There are fleeting glimpses of Generals McClellan, Butler, Jefferson Davis
and other characters of the time. One chapter is devoted to a collection
of non-Catholic tributes to the Sisters. There is a letter in the volume
that reveals General Butler in a cliivilrous light. Some of the Sisters of
a convent at New Orleans had complained that their property was being
damaged by the military operations in that vicinity, and in response the
General sent a reply couched in language that presents the man in a new
light to those not intimately acquainted with him.— Philadelphia Inquirer.

"A Fascinating- Volume that Perpetuates the MemorieM
of the Sisterhoods in the Civil War."

To the annals of the war George Barton, an historical student of Phil-
adelphia, has just added a fascinating volume entitled "Angels of the
Battlefield," in which he has endeavored to perpetuate the memories of
the members of the Roman Catholic Sisterhoods who helped to care for
the sick, wounded and dying in the Civil War. It is hard to obtain in-
formation from such people, and as military records are proverbially care-
less in such matters, the Sisters not coming within military jurisdiction,
the author was compelled to obtain his material by the slow process of
personal application to the witnesses of the many affairs in which these
Christian workers were the chief actors. The Sisters received no pay, and
the only gifts they accepted were upon the condition that the gift would
in turn be given again, in order to do good among those who most needed
it. Their services will never be forgotten, and the story of their devo-
tion and sacrifices will ever be one of the prettiest chapters in the annals
of the Union.— Margherita Arline Hamm in the New York Mail and Ex-
press.

PUBLISHEK'S NOTICE. 403

"A Book "Valuable as a Record and in its
Lilterary Style."

Mr. Barton has presented to the public a Taluahle book, valuable as a
record and yaluable in its literary style. It is well described by a histori-
cal critic as a tribute to the noble band of women Samaritans to which
every kindly heart, irrespective of religious faith, will respond. The Sis-
ters of Charity of Nazareth, who so readily and with such self-sacrificing
heroism volunteered their humble services to help the sick and admin-
ister to the dying in the great Civil conflict receive in "Angels of the
Battlefield" a just and due recognition of their moral courage and hero-
ism.—The Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times.

"The Descriptions of the More Important Engrage- '"^

ments are Really Graphic."

His facts, gathered from letters still extant, from conversations had
with many of the surviving nuns, and the testimony of not a few who owed
their lives from the ministrations of the Sisters, give a very complete
and accurate account of his subject. He traces the work of the Sisters
at times with a vividness that is startling. His descriptions of the more
important engagements, especially of Shiloh, Antietam and Gettysburg,
are really graphic, and they give us the truest idea of the noble character
of the Sisters, who amid such scenes of carnage pursued unintei-ruptedly '
their mission of love and mercy. "The Angels of the Battlefield" should
be read by everyone who desires to possess a complete knowledge of the
war.— The New World, Chicago.

"It is "Well to Let the "World Know of Their Heroic
Services."

Although the noble Sisters who for the love of God went forth during
the Civil War to nurse the sick and wounded do not desire to have their
deeds perpetuated on earth, it is well to let the world know of the heroic
services they rendered from 1S61-5. The author presents in a compact
form the history of the labors of the Sisters during this period in a most
readable manner. The volume contains handsome illustrations of some of
the more prominent generals and Sisters of the war. Several valuable
pictures of battles are also given.— The Church News, Washington.

"Praiseworthy Attempt to Give Plain Facts "Without
Comment."

The "News" compliments the author upon the excellence of his work
and commends it to its readers. The labor of four of the most conspicu-
ous Sisterhoods are detailed in a most complete and thorough manner.
The book begins with the work of the Sisters of Charity, and then takes
up in natural sequence the labors of the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of
St. Joseph's and the Sisters of the Holy Cross. There has been a praise-
worthy and successful attempt to give plain facts without comment or
unnecessai-y coloring. It is one of the best books of the year.— The Har-
risburg News.

404 PUBLISHER'S NOTICE.

"Fleeting Glimpses of Many of tlie Great C'harafters
of the Time."

The twenty-seven chapters of the volume are crowded with Incidents
and stories, some pathetic, some humorous and others still, historical.
There are flitting glimpses of General McClellan, General Butler, Jeffer-
son Davis, and other characters of the time. One chapter is devoted to a
collection of non-Catholio tributes to the Sisters; while an appendix fur-
nishes the reader with some interesting and important facts that it was
deemed advisable to separate from the test.— The Union and Times, Buf-
falo,

Right Rev. I, F. Horstmann, D. D., Bishop of
Cleveland.

It was a happy thought for you, even at this late hour, to gather
together some of the glorious records of the labors of the noble bands
of Sisters on the field and in the hospitals during the war. Gather up
the fragments lest they be lost. These victories of charity ought to be at
least as memorable as the bloody triumphs of the battlefield.— Ign. F.
Horstmann, Bishop of Cleveland.

I An Indorsement from the Editor of a Well-Known

Latin Journal.

"Angels of the Battlefield." A History of the Labors of

tke Catholic Sisterhoods n the Civil War. Anctore Georgio

Barton. The Catholic Art Publ. Co., Bnrd Building, 9th and

Chestnut str., Philadelphia. Pretium, tela $3.00, eorio Rus-

sico $4.00; editio elegans, eorio Marocaniio $.5.00. Liber hie

iconibns venustissiniis illustratus, chartae laevissimae im-

pressus, historiam complectitur rerum gestarum virginum

Sanctimonialium, in bello civili Americanorum euram mili-

tum saucioruni gerentium. Historia eerte modestior vulnera

niedentlum. cruoremque abstergentium auam vulnera iniii-

gentium & sanguinem pr«fundentiuni, legendo tamen non

minus digna, pvae-sertisji siquis huiuauitatem non e ferocia

iudicare cupiat. Opus nobis placet, fortasse & aliis humani-

tatl studiosis placebit. — Arcade Mogyorossy, Editor Praeco

Latiiius, MemstrHuiii-Gentiiiiiu-Latinuni.

Translation.

••Angels of the Battlefield." A history of the labors of the Catholic
Sisterhoods in the Civil War. by George Barton, author. The Catholic Art
rublishing Company, Burd Buildiug, 9th and Chestnut sts., Philadelphia.
The work is illustrated with the finest engravings and printed ou very
Hiif paper. It relates to the work of the various Sisterhoods ia earing
for the wounded soldiers in the late American Civil War. A history of

PUBLISHER'S NOTICE. 405

healing wouuds and cleansing the bloodstains therefrom is certainly more
noble than that of the infliction and the shedding of blood. The reading
is not less worthy, especially if one does not wish to judge our race by
its barbarity, but by its virtue. It has been very gratifying to us, and per-
haps will be so to others who endeavor to humanize mankind."— Arcade
Mogyorossy, Editor Praeco Latinus Menstruum-Gentium-Latinum.

Pleasure Taken "in. Complimeutin^ tlie Author
on His Splendid Production."

We are personally acquainted with the author, have read the book
carefully, and take great pleasure in complimenting Mr. Barton on hia
splendid production. "While the battle scenes, camp life and other stirring
events of the war period from 1861-5 have received attention from the
bright minds, and the facts recorded on the pages of history in every
civilized country, yet this book by Mr. Barton is the first that treats
exclusively on the great work accomplished by the Catholic Sisterhoods
in the Civil war.— Clearfield Republican.

"Recounts Many Incidents Whicli Will Be Read
Witli the Deepest Interest."

"Angels of the Battlefield" is a well printed, generously illustrated
volume of more than 300 pages, containing no inconsiderable amount of
information about the services rendered by Sisters of dilferent religious
orders during the Civil war. Mr. Barton writes feelingly of their devot-
edness and self sacrifices, and recounts many incidents which will be
read with the deepest interest. The author has wisely touched upon the
leading events of the years 1S61-5, and thus rendered the volume more
acceptable to general readers than it would otherwise be. He is to be
congratulated on the services he has rendered to the cause of religion
and truth.— The Ave Maria.

"This Comprehensive History of Meiey Reads Almost Lilce
a Romance."

"Angels of the Battlefield" is an elegantly bound volume, in cloth,
with gilt back and front, and beautifully illustrated. The book is
crowded with incidents and stories, pathetic, humorous and historical,
and the story of the self-sacrificing work of the Sisters is told In a com-
pact and com-prehensive form. This history of mercy reads almost like a
romance.— Boston Dailv Globe.

"Tribute of Permanent Preservation Well Carried Out and
Richly Deserved,"

It is a noble record. North, South or West, and the tribute of per-
manent preservation so well carried out by Mr. Barton is richly deserved.
We cannot afford to let the noble deeds of our women in the Civil
war, any more than those of our men, die out from our recollection and
gratitude. The Catholic Sisterhoods were active in the work of helping
and nursing in the Civil war, as they are in all wars and epidemics. Their

406 PUBLISHEE'S NOTICE.

work was so unobtrusive that there has been difficulty in getting the
data necessary for this record, but by means of personal interviews and
the examination of records and newspaper files the author does justice to
the devotion of these good Sisters.— The Baltimore Sun.

"The Nobler Literatnre of the World Gains
By This Work."

One of the most beautiful stories of the Civil "War has been fittingly
told at the end of thirty-two years. The materials were not easily gath-
ered, for, as the author remarks, a genuine humility has stood in the way
of the collection of the data, but the work has been done, and the nobler
literature of the world gains by its performance. As the self-sacrificing
Sisters ministered to all whom they could reach during the war, never ask-
ing whether the uniform was blue or gray, so a striking and appropriate
characteristic of this book ig the fact that the narrative is interwoven
without regard to the opposing lines of armies.— St. Louis Globe-Demo-
crat.

Author of the Work has Sneeeeclecl in Compiling-
"a Fascinating "Volume."

The book fills 300 pages with its accounts of the different Sisterhoods
and their leading members. Incidentally it brings in many of the great
men of the sixties, such as Archbishop Hughes, whose labors for the
Union have made him immortal; Archbishop Kenrich, Archbishop Ryan,
General MeClellan, General Butler, Abraham Lincoln, Archbishop Elder,
General Grant, Archbishop Spaulding, General Anderson, General Wood,
General Rosecrans, Governor Morton and Col. Mulligan. The author in
his endeavor to perpetuate the memories of the modest members of the
Catholic Sisterhoods, who helped the sick and wounded in the Civil War,
has compiled a fascinating volume.— Irish-American, New York.

•'Performed His Task W^ith Excellent Judgment and in a
Broad Spii'it."

The author of this book has performed his task with excellent judg-
ment and in a broad spirit. Most of the stories given were gathered in
personal interviews, by examination of various archives and records, and
by an extensive correspondence with Government officials, army veterans
and Superioresses of Convents and communities. The gentle ways, the
fathomless sympathies of the Sisters soothed and cheered the soldier who
lay sick and wounded. The Sister seemed to the sufferer like a link to his
mother. He was far more ready to unbosom his thoughts to the Sister
than to the doctor. In his last moments he would give the Sister his
messages, and asked to hold her hand as his life drifted away.— The West-
ern Chronicle.

Nprfh Caioljna State Library
RaJeiah

Nov22'61SL

GC 973.775 B293a

Barton, George, 1866-1940

3 3091 00095 9866

Date Due

BRODART INC

Cat No 23 233 Pnnted ,n Cl S A